
1 



/ 



/ 






1 



FOUR TEARS OF FIGHTING: . 



A VOLUME OF 



PERSONAL OBSERVATION WITH THE 
ARMY AND NAVY, 



THE FIRST BATTLE OF BULL RUN TO THE 
FALL OF RICHMOND. 



CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN, 

AUTHOR OP "TVINXING HIS WAT," "MY DATS AND NIGHTS ON THE BATTLE-FIELD," 

" FOLLOWING THE FLAG," ETC., AND WAR CORRESPONDENT 

OF THE BOSTON JOURNAL. 




BOSTON: 
TICK NOR AND FIELDS 

1866. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by 

CHARLES CARLETON COFFIN, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 






4 



University Press : Welch, Bigelow, & Co., 
Cambridge. 



PREFATORY NOTE. 



^ 



This volume, though historic, is not a history of the Rebel- 
lion, but a record of personal observations and experiences 
during the war, with an occasional look at affairs in general to 
give clearness to the narrative. The time has not arrived for 
the writing of an impartial history of the conflict between 
Slavery and Freedom in the United States. Reports of mili- 
tary operations are incomplete ; documents in the archives at 
Washington are inaccessible ; much material remains to be 
g-athered before the patient historian can sift the wheat from 
the chaff. More than this, the war of ideas is not yet ended. 
Defeated Rebels in some parts of the South are bent on exter- 
minating the African race. Few of those lately in rebellion 
plead guilty of having committed a crime ; taking up arms 
against the government they consider to have been a blunder 
only. We are, therefore, too near the great events to render 
proper judgment upon questions in which our principles and 
sympathies have been enlisted. 

The chapter concerning the Con-federate Cotton Loan may 
seem to be out of place in a volume of which so large a portion 
is given to narrative, but I trust that it will be acceptable to 
the general reader, inasmuch as it reveals the efforts of the 
Rebels to array all Europe against the United States in the 
late struggle. The correspondence in my possession was picked 
up in the streets of Richmond, and will be of value to the fu- 
ture historian. The chapter in question is but an outline of 
the operations of the Confederates abroad. 



IV PREFATORY NOTE. 

In looking over the sheets as they came from the press, sev- 
eral errors relative to the organization and formation of troops 
in battle have been detected, which, however, will appear in 
but a few volumes. Undoubtedly there are others, and the 
writer will esteem it a favor to be put right wherever he is in 
the wrong. Few official reports of regimental and brigade 
officers have been published, while the repo ts of division and 
corps commanders are only general in their statements. The 
true history of battles cannot be given till the history of regi- 
ments is written. 

My stand-point as an observer is that of one whose instincts 
from early childhood have been on the side of Freedom. I 
have ever believed that Civil Liberty is the birthright of all 
men, and from the firing upon Sumter to the close of the 
contest had full faith that the people, under God, would sub- 
due the Rebellion, and give freedom to the slave. 

The four years have been worth a century of ordinary life ; 
for in the mighty contest Right has triumphed over Wrong, 
and the human race, with a clearer perception of Truth and 
Justice as the sure foundation of government, is moving on 
to a higher civilization. 

C. C. C. 
Boston, May, 1866. 



CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 

BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT. 



PAGB 



Ideas and Principles. — Battles witnessed. — The Leaders. — State of Af- 
fairs. — Baltimore. — Dulness in the Streets. — Baltimore Women. — 
Raw Troogs. — Visit to Fort McHenry. — Washington. — Material of 
the Army. — Generals in Command. — General Scott. — His Position. 
— Newspaper Reports. — Troops organized. — The Gathering of the 
Rebels 1 



CHAPTER I. 

AROUND WASHINGTON. 

Alexandria The Massachusetts Fifth. — A Song for Bunker Hill. — The 

Review. — The Distant Gun. — The Affair at Vienna. — A Dinner in 
the Field. — Vallandigham and the Ohio Boys. — Patriotism of the 
Soldiers. — The Rogues' March. — Miitiny of the Garibaldi Guard. — 
An Adventure. — Broken English. — Unpleasant Position. — General 
Mansfield's Wrath. — The Lager-Beer Business. — A Faded Aristocracy. 
— Living on a Name. — The Sirens of Virginia. — A South Carolina 
Chattel. — His Search for Chickens. — How he found Freedom 

CHAPTER n. 

BULL RUN. 

The March. — The Second Maine. — The Pageant. — The Bivouac. — The 
Beehives. — Beauregard's Proclamation. — McDowell's Order. — The 
Contrast. — Virginia Unionism. — The First Shot. — The Artillery. — 
Retreat of the Rebels. — The Negro's Story. — Centreville. — SnufT Dip- 
pers. — Affairs at Blackburn's Ford. — The Morning. — Progress of the 

Battle The Rebel Prisoner. — The Turning of the Tide. — At the 

Spring. — The Panic. — The Teamsters The Rebels on the Point of 



Vi CONTENTS. 

Retreating. — Richmond Dispatch. — Wonderful Stories of the Rebels. — 

Change of Sentiment. — General Butler. — Union Men of Virginia. — 
Bitterness of the Rebels. — Seductive Influences of Slavery . . .17 

CHAPTER III. 

THE FALL OF 1861. 

Position of Affairs. — Disaster at Ball's Bluff. — The News in "Washington. 

— How President Lincoln received it. — His tenderness of Heart. — Mr. 
Lincoln in his Springfield Home. — His Temperance Principles. — 
Poolsville. — Colonel Baker's Body. — Slavery in Western Maryland. — 
Visit to Eastern Maryland. — The " White Horse." — Character of the 
Country. — Our Host at Pamunkey. — His Family. — Visit to Annapo- 
lis. — Aristocratic Pride. — Secession in Washington. — The Spirit of 
Slavery in the Army. — The Hutchinson Family and General McClellan. 

— Whittier's " Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott." — Major Gould and his 
Scout. — A Rebel Minister. — Washington Jail and its Inmates. — Close 

of the Year 30 

CHAPTER IV. 

AFFAIKS IN THE WEST. 

Louisville. — Position of Kentucky. — The Opinions of a Loyal Tennes- 
seean. — General Buell and his Policy. — Events in Missouri. — General 
Halleck. — Order No. 3. — General Schofield and the Guerillas. — Negro 
Testimony. — Fremont's Army. — Visit to RoUa. — General Sigel. — 
Radical Sentiments of the Army. — Cairo. — Union Generals. — Intro- 
duction to General Grant. — Commodore Foote. — The Mississippi Flo- 
tilla. — Captain Porter and the Essex. — His Challenge to Captain 
Montgomery. — Major-General Bishop Polk. — Reconnoissance towards 
Columbus. — A Kentucky Farm-house. — Return to Cairo . . .47 

CHAPTER V. 

CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 

Battle of Mill Springs. — A genuine Kentuckian. — Discussion of the Negro 

Question. — Kentucky Farmers Lexington. — Scenes at the Phcnix 

Hotel. — Secession Ladies. — Anthony TroUope. — Tomb of Henry Clay. 

— Clay's Opinion of Abolitionists. — How a Presbyterian Minister would 
conduct the War. — Buell's Right Wing. — Trip down the Ohio. — Pas- 
sengers on Board the Grey Eagle. — The People of Owensborough. — 
Up Green River. — Kentucky Unionists. — Visit to Calhoun. — A "first- 
class " Hotel. — Scenes on the Steamer 59 



CONTENTS. Vli 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 

Capture of Tort Henry. — Commodore Foote's Account of the Fight His 

Care for the Wounded. — His Preaching on Sunday. — Affairs in Missis- 
sippi. — Capture of Fort Donelson. — Movement of the Troops. — The 
Surrender. — The Appearance of the Rebels. — The Town of Dover. — 
Scenes in the Rebel Lines. — The formal Surrender of the Fort. — Ap- 
pearance of Buckner and Grant. — Rebel Officers on the Rampage. — 
Commodore Foote's Intentions. — His Plans frustrated by Halleck. — 
Nullification of Order No. 3. — Occupation of Columbus. — The Southern 
Muse. — Bombardment of Island No. 10. — Colonel Bissell's Canal. — 
Passage of Transports to New Madrid. — Running past the Batteries. — 
General Pope's Operations. — Capture of Rebels. — Surrender of Island 
No. 10 76 

CHAPTER VII. 

PITTSBUEG LANDING, FOKT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 

The Opposing Forces. — The Battle-Field. — The Pocnr Whites of the South. 

— General Sherman. — Beauregard's Despatch. — Retreat of the Rebels. 

— Halleck's Advance upon Corinth. — The Mississippi Fleet. — Admiral 
Davis. — Captain Maynadier. — A Trap for the Rebels. — Movement of 
the Rams. — Fire of the Rebel Batteries. — Evacuation of Fort Pillow. — 

Gunboat Fight at Memphis. — Surrender of the City Commodore 

Ellet 93 

CHAPTER VIII. 

INVASION OF MAKYLAND. 

Battle of Manassas. — Colonel Broadhead. — Confidence of the Rebels. — 
Uprising in Pennsylvania. — Surrender of Harper's Ferry. — Escape of 
the Union Cavalry. — Negro Teamsters. — Excitement of the Citizens. — 
Hagerstown. — Antietam. — Visit to the Right Wing. — Poffenberg's 

House. — Sumner's Movement The Corn-Field. — Burnside's Attack. 

— The Fight at the Bridge 110 

CHAPTER IX. 

INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 

The Opposing Forces. — Bragg's Advance. — Capture of Frankfort. — The 
Rebels in Lexington. — Inauguration of Governor Harris. — Bragg's Re- 
treat from Frankfort. — Battle of Perryville. — President's Proclamation. 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

— The Kentucky Policy. — General Gillmorc's Order No. 5. — Twenty- 
Second Wisconsin and Colonel Utley. — Judge Eobertson and his Boy 

Jo. — The Kentucky Policy reversed. — An Evening in Louisville . 122 

CHAPTER X. 

FROM HARPER'S FERRY TO FREDERICKSBURG. 

Soldiers' Pets. — Removal of McClellan. — Bumside's Plans. — Army Cor- 
respondence. — Gold Speculators. — Expectations of the People . .137 

CHAPTER XI. 

BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 

The Signal ,Guns. — Laying the Pontoons. — Bombardment of the City. — 
Hall's Brigade. — Eebel Sharpshooters. — Crossing the River. — Seventh 
Michigan. — Yankees in Fredericksburg. — Night Scene The Drum- 
mer-Boy. — Rev. Arthur B. Fuller. — His Funeral Obsequies. — Lee's 
Army. — Positions of the Troops. — Bumside's Orders to Franklin. — 
The Morning. — Movement of the Army. — Attack on the Left. — 
Franklin's Despatches. — Meade's Attack. — Jackson's Line broken. — 
Franklin's Account. — Wounded Soldiei'S. — Attack on the Right. — 
Eleventh New Hampshire. — Sturgis's Division. — The Last Attack. 

— Recrossing the River . . . . . . . . .142 

CHAPTER XII. 

THE WINTER AT FALMOUTH. 

Employment of the Men. — American Tract Society. — General Howard 
and the Secessionists. — Sanitary and Christian Commissions. — Re- 
ligion in the Army. — Chapels . . . . . . . .174 

* CHAPTER XIII. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE. 

General Hooker in Command. — Reorganization of the Army. — Hooker's 
Plan. — Movement of the Troops. — First and Sixth Corps. — Lee 
puzzled. — Hooker in Position. — Lee's Movement. — Jackson's March. 

— Howard's Position. — Sickles's Advance. — Jackson's Attack. — The 
Eleventh Corps. — Sickles's Return. — Death of Jackson. — The Battle 
of Sunday. — Best's Artillery. — Stewart's Attack. — The Second Corps. 

— Hooker's last Position. — Second Battle of Fredericksburg. — Sedg- 
wick's Attack. — Maryee's Hill. — Barksdale's Retreat. — Battle of Sa- 
lem Church.. — Lost Opportunity . . . . . . .179 



CONTENTS. IX 

CHAPTER XIV. 

CAVALRY OPERATIONS. 

Stoneman's Preparations. — Crossing the Eapidan. — Raid through Vir- 
ginia. — Kilpatrick's Audacity. — Shelling Richmond. — His Escape. — 
Stoneman's Return 212 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE ATLANTIC COAST. 

Port Royal. — Sunday Services. — Rev. Mr. Murchison. — Visit to the 
Plantations. — Sancho's Address. — Negro Music. — Mitchelville. — 
Sojourner Truth. — Enlistment of Negro Troops. — Colonel Higginson. 
— Antipathy of White Soldiers. — First South Carolina Regiment. — 
Smith's Plantation 224 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE IRON-CLADS IN ACTION. 

Destruction of the Nashville. — Captain Worden. — Attack on Fort McAl- 
lister. — First Bombardment of Sumter. — Visit to the Fleet. — Captain 
Rodgers. — Damage to the Fort 248 

CHAPTER XVII. 

THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

General Lee's Movements. — Hooker on the Watch. — Bedlam in Pennsyl- 
vania. — Harrisburg. — Baltimore. — Colored Population. — Resignation 
of General " Hooker. — General Meade. — Feelings of the Soldiers. — 
Advance to Gettysburg. — Organization of the Army. — Patriotism of 
the People. — Bread for the Soldiers Ride to Gettysburg. — Geo- 
graphical Features of the Place ....... 258 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 

General Reynolds's Position. — Beginning of the Fight. — General How- 
ard's Account. — Weidreick's Battery. — General Slocum at Two Tav- 
erns. — Howard's Messages. — General Hancock's Arrival. — Color- 
Bearers of the Nineteenth Indiana. — Arrival of the Third Corps. — 



X CONTENTS, 

Second Day. — General Meade on the Field. — The Cemetery. — Major 
Howard. — Ride along the Lines. — Stannard's Brigade. — Meade's 
Head-Quarters. — Position of the Second Corps. — The Third Corps. 

— Sickles's Position at Noon. — Lee's Intentions. — Confidence of the 
Rebels. — Longstreet's Command. — His Plan. — Half past Three. — 
The Attack. — Resistance of the Third Corps. — McGilvery's Batteries. 

— The Ninth Massachusetts Battery. — Barnes's Division. — The Reg- 
ulars. — Resistance of the Pennsylvania Reserves. — Hood's Advance. 

— Colonel Chamberlain's Position. — Slocum's Movement. — Double- 
day and Williams. — Men of Vermont. — Fourteenth Maine. — Louis- 
iana Tigers. — Third Day. — The Morning Cannonade. — Rebel 
Prisoners. — Fight on Culp's Hill. — Cavalry Operations. — Lee's Prep- 
arations for the last Attack. — Position of the Troops. — Scene at Meade's 
Head-Quarters. — The Cannonade. — Howard's Batteries. — Hancock 
wounded. — The Vermont Regiments. — Repulse of the Rebels. — 
Scenes along the Lines. — In the Rebel Lines. — Midnight. — After the 
Battle. — Lee's Retreat. — Meade's Movements. — Lee at Williamsport. 

— Crossing the Potomac. — Battle at Falling Waters .... 269 

CHAPTER XIX. 

FROil THE EAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 

Opening of the Campaign. — Organization of the Army. — Grant's Plan. — 
The Ninth Corps. — President Lincoln reviewing the Colored Troops. 

— The Army in Motion. — Across the Rapidan. — Grant and Meade in 
Council. — The Wilderness. — Position of the Army. — First Day's 
Fight. — Arrival of the Ninth Corps. — Second Day. — Movement to 
Spottsylvania. — Sheridan's Fight. — Todd's Tavern. — Warren en- 
gaged. — Battle of Spottsylvania. — Song of the Wounded. — The 
Vermont Brigade. — Death of General Rice. — Attack of the Second 
Corps A Day in Fredericksburg. — Sanitary and Christian Commis- 
sions. — Getting Straw for the Hospitals. — Movement to the North Anna. 

— Battle of Jericho Bridge. — A Night in a Cabin. — Movement to 
Hanover. — Battle of Bethesda Church. — General Smith's Advance to 
Cold Harbor. — Sheridan's Movement. — Position of the two Armies. 

— First Battle of Cold Harbor. — Hospital Scene. — Second Battle. — 
McClellan at Cold Harbor and the Campaign of '62. — Grant's Opera- 
tions. — Caroline County The Planters and their Property. — The 

Day of Jubilee. — Breaking up of Society 306 

CHAPTER XX. 

TO PETERSBURG. 

Comments of the Rebel Newspapers. — Opinions of the Soldiers. — Discus- 
sion of Plans. — General Hunter's Advance to Lvnchburg. — Sheridan's 



CONTENTS. XI 

Raid. — Butler and Gillmore. — Movement to James River. — Gillmore's 
Failure. — Grant's Instructions to Smith. — Lee surprised. — General 
Hinks's Division of Colored Troops. — Their First Engagement. — 
Smith's Advance. — First Battle in Front of Petersburg. — Capture of 
Rebel Intrenchmeuts. — General Terry's Movement. — Lost Opportuni- 
ties. — Sentiments of the People. — President Lincoln Heroism of the 

Colored Soldiers. — Arrival of the Ninth Corps. — Second Battle in 
Front of Petersburg. — General Potter's Division. — Fifty-Seventh Mas- 
sachusetts. — Edward M. Schneider. — Third Battle in Front of Peters- 
burg. — Barbarism of Slavery. — Prejudice against Colored Troops. — 
The Christian Commission. — Hardships of the Campaign. — Religion 
in the Army . . . . . • . . . . . . 351 

CHAPTER XXI. 

SIEGE OPERATIONS. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Pleasants. — His Plan for a Mine to destroy the Works 
before Petersburg. — Difficulties he encountered in constructing it. — 
Battle at Deep Bottom. — Completion of the Mine. — Preparations for 
springing it. — Fuse goes out. — Delay. — Relighted. — The Explosion. 

— Consternation of the Rebels. — Confusion of Union Troops. — Rebels 
return to their Guns. — Terrible Slaughter in the Crater. — Reasons for 

the Failure. — The Rebel Press. — The Fortunes of the Confederacy . 376 

CHAPTER XXII. 

TfflRD INVASION OF MARYLAND. 

General Situation of Affairs. — Early's Movement down the Valley. — 
Breckenridge sent to reinforce him. — The Sixth Corps. — Excitement 
in Washington. — Early's Force. — Massachusetts Sixteenth Regiment. 

— Arrival of Nineteenth Corps. — Enthusiastic Reception. — Confidence 
restored. — Battle of Monocacy. — Alarming Reports. — Advance of Reb- 
els upon Washington. — Their hasty Retreat ..... 384 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

SHERMAN'S ARMY. 

Review of Sherman's Campaign. — Jeff Davis's dislike of Johnston. — 
Appointment of Hood. — Davis's Speech to Hood's Army. — Sher- 
man contemplates a Movement to Savannah. — Grant authorizes it. — 
Organization of Sherman's Army. — Comments of Rebel Press on his 
March to the Sea. — Complaints of Sherman's Inhumanity. — He is 
compared to Attila. — His Vindication of Himself. — The Bummers. — 
Their Humanity to Union Refugees . . . . . . .391 



Xii CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

CHRISTIANITY AND BARBARISM. 

Sherman in Savannah. — Destitution of the People. — Humanity of the 
People of the North. — Steamer Greyhound. — Belle Boyd. — Voyage 
of the Greyhound. — Thunderbolt Battery. — Fifty-Fifth Massachusetts. 

— Distribution of Supplies. — Rebel Prisons. — Responsibility of Rebel 
Officials. — Amiability of General Lee. — Andersonville . . . 402 

CHAPTER XXV. 

SCENES IN SAVANNAH. 

Aunt Nellie and her Sister. — Inhumanity of Slavery. — Whittier's Lines. 

Buroiug of the Arsenal. — General Sherman's Order No. 1 5. — 

Abandoned Lands. — General Saxton. — Meeting of Freedmen. — Ad- 
dress of Rev. Mr. French. — Appearance of the Congregation. — Rev. 
Mr. Houston. — The Slave Market. — Commencing a Colony. — Plans 
of the Freedmen. — The Sexton. — The Dead from Manassas. — The 
Gospel of Slavery. — Breaking up of Society. — Ladies of Savannah. 

— Poor Whites of Georgia. — Negro Dialect. — Freedmen in Council in 
the Slave Market. — Their Battle-Hymn. — Civilization. — Christianity 

at Work 414 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

SHERMAN IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Instructions of General Grant. — Sherman's Plan. — Expectation of the 
Rebels. — Grover's Division. — His Army in Motion. — Howard's Ad- 
vance to the Salkehatchie. — Crossing the River. — Hardee retires to 
Branchville. — Kilpatrick's Movement towards Augusta. — Consterna- 
tion of the Rebels. — Sherman moves to Orangeburg. — General Pot- 
ter's Division. — Hampton's and Wheeler's Cavalry. — Hampton's 
Home. — Columbia. — Burning of the City. — Sherman charges Hamp- 
ton with kindling the Fire. — Bitterness of South-Carolinians against 
General Sherman. — Responsibility of the Rebel Government for Out- 
rages ............ 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

SOUTH CAROLINA BEFORE THE WAR. 

The Part taken by the State in the Political Affiiirs of the Nation. — Basis 
of Representation. — Classes of People. — Lowlanders and Uplanders. — 



43G 



CONTENTS. Xiii 

Climate. — Cotton. — Parish System. — Assembling of the Legislature in 
I860. — Remarks of W. D. Porter Secession Principles. — Adjourn- 
ment to Charleston. — Hibernia Hall. — Rev. Dr. Thornwell's Preach- 
ing. — The Teachings of the Bible. — The Province of History. — 

Negroes for Sale Women of South Carolina in Favor of Secession. — 

The Charleston Mercury. — The " Patriarchal Institution " . . . 444 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

SUMTER. 

Governor Pickens's Letter to President Buchanan. — Major Anderson in 
Sumter. — Construction of Rebel Batteries. — Negotiations for the Sur- 
render of the Fort. — The Bombardment. — Scenes in Charleston after 
the Surrender. — Visit to the Fort. — Captured Blockade-Runners. — 
Condition of the Fort. — Scenes of the Morning ..... 434 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

CHARLESTON. 

A City of Ruins. — Our Welcome. — Charleston before the War. — The 
Seducer of States. — Siege of the City. — Removal of the People. — As- 
sertion of the Charleston Courier. — The Evacuation. — Blowing up of 
the Iron-clads. — Firing the City. — Bursting the Guns. — Twenty- 
First Colored Regiment. — Colonel Bennett occupies the City. — Fifty- 
Fourth Massachusetts extinguishing the Flames. — " Gillmore's Town." 
— The " Swamp Angel." — The Courier OflBce. — The Banks. — South 
Carolina Troops in Confederate Service. — The Mills House. — The 
Churches. — The great Fire of 1861. — Devastation. — Slave Mer- 
chants. — The Bell of St. Michael's. — The Guard-House. — The Slave- 
Mart. — Letters of the Slave-Traders. — Colonel Woodford in the Office 
of the Courier. — Sermon of Rev. Dr. Porter. — A Yankee in his Bed. — 
Joy of the Colored People. — " Rosa's " Mother. — Washington's Birth- 
day. — John Brown in Charleston. — Humiliation of the Rebels. — 
Union Men The Old Flag. — How the People were cheated . . 462 

CHAPTER XXX. 

THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 

Position of Affairs. — Grant's Letter to Sheridan. — Cavalry Raids. — Sher- 
idan's Movement to Waynesboro'. — Attack upon Early. — Advance to 
James River. — Moves to White House. — Joins Grant. — Alarm in 
Richmond. — Lee's last Offensive Movement. — Attack on Fort Stead- 
man. — Repulse of Gordon. — Grant's Order to " finish up " the Rebel- 



XIV CONTENTS. 

lion. — Sherman's Visit to Grant. — Great Men in Council. — Grant's 
Line. — Sheridan on the Move. — Lee's Diversion against the Ninth 
Corps. — Night Attack. — A Rebel Prisoner. — A Looic at the Oppos- 
ing Forces. — Hatcher's Run. — Lee* Line of Fortifications. — Grant 
feels lilie ending the Matter. — Battl(/of Dinwiddie Court-IIouse. — Ad- 
vance of the Fifth Corps. — Ba^uc of Five Forl;s. — Charge of the 
Fifth Corps. — Merritt's Attack, i^ Rout of the Rebels . . . 485 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

RICHMOND. • 

Jeff Davis a Fugitive. — Blowing up of the Rebel Iron-clads. — Grant in 
Petersburg. — President Lincoln and the Soldiers. — Ride to Richmond. 

— Lee's Message to Davis. — Consternation in Richmond. — Rev. 
Messrs. Hoge and Duncan. — The last Slave Coffle. — Confederate 
Promises to Pay. — Scenes of Sunday Night. — Pillaging the City. — 
Flight of the Legislature. — General Ewell and the Mayor in regai'd to 
burning the City. — The Massacre at the Almshouse. — Firing the City. 

— Departure of the Rebel Troops. — Breckenridge taking a last Look of 
the City. — Sunrise. — Major Stevens and the Fourth Massachusetts 
Cavalry. — Surrender of the City. — Raising Flags on the Capitol. — 
The Yankees putting out the Flames. — Entrance of General Weitzel. — 
Taking a Room at the Spottswood Hotel. — Scenes in the City on Mon- 
day. — General Devens's Orders. — Visit to the Capitol. — Admiral Far- 
ragut. — President Lincoln's Arrival. — Joy of the Colored People. — 
Walk to Jeff Davis's Mansion. — Judge Campbell. — Admiral Porter. 

— The President's Visit to Libby Prison. — Opinions of the People. — 
Colored Soldiers in the Service of the Rebels. — Lee's Opinions. — An 
Abolitionist in Richmond. — A Newspaper Correspondent and a Rebel 
OflBcer At the Capitol. — Scenes of the Past. — Christian Charity . 499 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 

Attitude of Great Britain. — Sympathies of Palmerston and Russell. — The 
English Press. — Operatives of Lancashire. — The London Times. — 
Opinions of Mr. Spence. — His Ai)pointmeiit as Financial Agent. — Ad- 
dress of the London Confederate Aid Association. — Whittier's Lines to 
Englishmen. — Mr. Mason at St. James. — His Griefs. — Benjamin's 
Letter to Mason. — Mr. De Leon appointed Agent to subsidize the Press 
of Europe. — Englishmen engjiged in Blockade-Running. — English 
Shipbuilders at work for the Slaveholders. — Funds needed. — Benja- 
min's Letter to Spence. — Rebel Coin shipped in British Vessels of War. 

— Slidell's Proposition for a Loan based on Cotton. — French intrigue 



CONTENTS. XV 

to sever Texas from the Confederacy. — Mr. Slidell recommends D'Er- 
langer as a suitable Agent to negotiate the Loan. — D'Erlanger oflPers it to 
the Bankers of London. — Mr. De Leon secures the Support of the Press. — 
Opening of the Correspondence. — D'Erlanger's Opinion of Mr. Spence. 

— Mr. Spence's Proposal. — Rush for Subscriptions. — Mr. Spence's 
Letter to D'Erlanger. — Compliments of the Emperor to D'Erlanger on 
the Success of the Loan. — Jeff Davis a Repudiator. — Rancor of the 
London Times in 1849. — Eats its Words in 186.3. — Whitewashes Da- 
vis. — Opinions of Mr. Sampson. — Opinions of Mr. Delaine. — The 
Times in the Pay of Jeff Davis. — How the Support of the Newspapers 
was secured. — Mr. Spence receives £ 6,500 as Correspondent of the 
Times. — Meeting of Rebels in Paris. — How the Loan was sustained. 

— D'Erlanger's good Game. — Wishes for a Second Loan. — D'Erlan- 
ger takes the Part of Shylock. — Trouble with McRae. — D'Erlanger 
helping Himself to Principal and Interest. — Schroeder & Co. in the 
" Ring." — Payments of Money. — Who was benefited. — The present 
Bondholders 523 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

SUEEENDER OF LEE. 

The Retreat of Lee from Petersburg. — Dejection of Rebel Soldiers. — 
Grant's Intentions. — Lee's Line of Retreat. — Grant ahead of him. — 
Panic among the Rebel Troops. — Meade's Movements. — Battle at Sail- 
or's Creek. — Custar's Charge Skirmish at Farmville. — The Race 

toward Lynchburg. — Sheridan's Movement. — Lee's last Council of 
War. — Correspondence between Lee and Grant. — The Meeting. — 
The Surrender. — Announcement to the Armies. — Pickett's Treason. 

— Rest and Peace .......... 543 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

CONCLUSION. 
General Grant at City Point. — The End of the Rebellion . . . 556 



J 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Portrait of the Author on Steel, .... Frontispiece. 



Page 

>/ Shiloh Church, 94 •" 

v' Mississippi School-House, 96^ 

^ axtietam, 11& 

Sherman's Bummers, • . . . . 421' 

Night-Scene in Charleston, 501 

1' Humiliation of Richmond, 507^ 

President Lincoln in Richmond, 512— 



PLANS OF BATTLES. 

Fredericksburg, 146 

Franklin's Attack, 155 

Chancellors viLLE, 188 

Sedgwick's ATtack, 201 

Salem Church, 208 

Advance to Gettysburg, 263 

Wilderness, 317 

Spottsylvania, 323 

North Anna, 331 ■ 

Cold Harbor, 334 

Petersburg, July 17, 1864, 365 

Petersburg, July 30, 1864, 368 



MUSIC. 

Roll Jordan, 230 

/ Freedman's Battle-Hymn, 434 



FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



INTRODUCTORY. 

BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT. 

After four years of war our country rests in peace. The 
Great Rebellion has been subdued, and the power and author- 
ity of the United States government are recognized in all the 
States. It has been a conflict of ideas and principles. Millions 
of men have been in arms. Great battles have been fought. 
There have been deeds of sublimest heroism and exhibitions of 
Christian patriotism which shall stir the hearts of those who are 
to live in the coming ages. Men who at the beginning of the 
struggle were scarcely known beyond their village homes are 
numbered now among 

" the immortal names 
That were not born to die " ; 

while the names of others who once occupied places of honor 
and trust, who forswore their allegiance to their country and 
•gave themselves to do wickedly, shall be held forever in ab- 
horrence. 

It has been my privilege to accompany the armies of the 
Union through this mighty struggle. I was an eye-witness of 
the first battle at Bull Run, of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Land- 
ing, Corinth, Island No. 10, Fort Pillow, Memphis, Antietam, 
Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Fort Sumter, Wilderness, Spottsyl- 
vania. North Anna, Hanover Court-House, Cold Harbor, Peters- 
burg, Weldon Railroad, and Five Forks. I was in Savannah 
soon after its occupation by Sherman on his great march to the 
sea, and watched his movement " northward with the sun." 
I walked the streets of Charleston in the hour of her deepest 
humiliation, and rode into Richmond on the day that the stars 
1 



2 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

of the Union were thrown in triumph to the l:)reeze above the 
Confederate Capitol. 

It seems a dream, and yet when I turn to the numerous note- 
books lying before me, and read the pencilings made on the 
march, the battle-field, in the hospital, and by the flickering 
camp-fires, it is no longer a fancy or a picture of the imaginar 
tion, but a reality. The scenes return. I behold once more 
the moving columns, — their waving banners, — the sunlight 
gleaming from gun-barrel and bayonet, — the musket's flash 
and cannon's flame. I hear the drum-beat and the wild hur- 
rah ! Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Meade, Burnside, Howard, 
Hancock, and Logan are leading them ; while Sedgwick, 
Wadsworth, McPherson, Mansfield, Richardson, Rice, Baker, 
Wallace, Shaw, Lowell, Winthrop, Putnam, and thousands of 
patriots, are laying down their lives for their country. Abra- 
ham Lincoln walks the streets of Richmond, and is hailed as the 
Great Deliverer, — the ally of the Messiah ! 

It will be my aim in this volume to reproduce some of those 
scenes, — to give truthful narratives of events, descriptions 
of battles, incidents of life in camp, in the hospital, on the 
march, in the hour of battle on land and sea, — writing noth- 
ing in malice, not even towards those who have fought against 
the Union. I shall endeavor to give the truth of history rather 
than the romance ; facts instead of philosophy ; to make real 
the scenes of the mighty struggle through which we have 
passed. 

On the 11th of June, 1861, I left Boston to become an Army 
Correspondent. The patriotism of the North was at flood-tide. 
Her drum-beat was heard in every village. Men were leaving 
their own affairs to serve their country. The stars and stripes 
waved from house-top and steeple. New York was a sea of 
banners. Ladies wore Union rosettes in their hair, while 
gentlemen's neck-ties were of " red, white, and blue." That 
family was poor indeed who could neither by cloth or colored 
tissue-paper manifest its love for the Union. The music of 
the streets ■ — vocal and instrumental — was " Hail Columbia " 
and " Yankee Doodle." Everywhere, — in city and town 
•and village, in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, — there 
was the same spirit manifested by old and young, of both 



1861.] BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT. 3 

sexes, to put down the Rebellion, cost what it might of blood 
and treasure. 

Baltimore presented a striking contrast to the other great 
cities. It was dull and gloomy. The stars and stripes waved 
over the Eutaw House, from the American newspaper office, 
where the brothers Fulton maintained unswerving loyalty. A 
few other residents had thrown the flag to the breeze, but Se- 
cession was powerful, and darkly plotted treason. There was 
frequent communication with the Rebels, who were muster- 
ing at Manassas. Business was at a stand still. The pulses 
of trade had stopped. Merchants waited in vain for customers 
through the long summer day. Females, calling themselves 
ladies, daintily gathered up their skirts whenever they passed 
an officer or soldier wearing the army blue in the streets, and 
manifested in other ways their utmost contempt for all who 
supported the Union. 

General Butler, who had subdued the rampant Secessionists 
by his vigorous measures, had been ordered to Fortress Mon- 
roe, and General Banks had just assumed command. His 
head-quarters were in Fort McHenry. A regiment of raw 
Pennsylvanians was encamped on the hill, by the roadside lead- 
ing to the fort. Officers and soldiers alike were ignorant of 
military tactics. Three weeks previous they were following 
the plough, or digging in the coal-mines, or smelting iron. 
It was amusing to watch their attempts at evolution. They 
were drilling by squads and companies. " Right face," shout- 
ed an" officer to his squad. A few executed the order correct- 
ly, some faced to the left, while others faced first right, then 
left, and general confusion ensued. 

So, too, were the officers ignorant of proper military phrases. 
At one time a captain, whose last command had been a pair of 
draft-horses on his Pennsylvania farm, on coming to a pit in 
the road, electrified his company by the stentorian order to 
" Gee round that hole." 

It was a beautiful evening, and the moon was shining bright- 
ly, when I called upon General Banks. Outside the fort were 
the field batteries belonging to the Baltimore Artillery which 
had been delivered up to Governor Hicks in April. The Seces- 
sionists raved over the transaction at the time, and in their rage 



4 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

cursed the Governor who turned them over to the United States 
authorities. Soldiers were building abattis, and training guns 
— sixty-four pounders — to bear upon the city, for even then 
there were signs of an uplieaval of the Secession elements, and 
General Banks deemed it best to be prepared for whatever 
might happen. But the Rebels on that day were moving from 
Harper's Ferry, having destroyed all the property of the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad Company in the vicinity. 

Passing on to Washington I found it in a hubbub. Troops 
were pouring in, raw, undisciplined, yet of material to make the 
best soldiers in the world, — poets, painters, artists, artisans, 
mechanics, printers, men of letters, bankers, merchants, and 
ministers were in the ranks. There was a constant rumble 
of artillery in the streets, — the jarring of baggage-wagons, 
and the tramping of men. Soldiers were quartered in the 
Capitol. They spread their blankets in the corridors, and 
made themselves at home in the halls. Hostilities had com- 
menced. Ellsworth had just been carried to his last resting- 
place. The bodies of Winthrop and Greble were then being 
borne to burial, wrapped in the flag of their country. 

Colonel Stone, with a number of regiments, was marching 
out from Washington to picket the Potomac from Washington 
to Point of Rocks. General Patterson was on the upper Poto- 
mac, General McClellan and General Rosecrans, with Virginia 
and Ohio troops, were driving the Rebels from Rich Mountain, 
while General McDowell was preparing to move upon Ma- 
nassas. 

These were all new names to the public. Patterson had 
served in the Mexican war, but the people had forgotten it. 
McClellan was known only as an engineer, who had made a 
report concerning the proposed railroad to the Pacific, and had 
visited Russia during the Crimean war. General Wool was 
in New York, old and feeble, too far advanced in life to take 
the field. The people were looking up to General Scott as the 
Hercules of the hour. Some one had called him the " Great 
Captain of the Age." He was of gigantic stature, and had 
fought gallantly on the Canadian frontier in 1812, and with 
his well-appointed army had marched in triumph into the City 
of Mexico. The events of the last war with England, and 



1861.] BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT. 5 

that with Mexico, in which General Scott was always the 
central figure, had been rehearsed by the stump-orators of a 
great political party during an exciting campaign. His like- 
ness was familiar to every American. It was to be found in 
parlors, saloons, beer-shops, and in all public places, — repre- 
senting him as a hero in gold-embroidered coat, epaulets, cha- 
peau, and nodding plume. His was the genius to direct the 
gathering hosts. So the people believed. He was a Virgin- 
ian, but loyal. The newspapers lauded him. 

" General Scott is watching the Rebels with sleepless vigi- 
lance," was the not unfrequent telegraphic despatch sent from 
Washington. « 

But he was seventy-five years of age. His powers were fail- 
ing. His old wound troubled him at times. He could walk 
only with difficulty, and it tired him to ride the few rods 
between his house and the War Department. He was slow 
and sluggish in all his thoughts and actions. Yet the people 
had confidence in him, and he in himself. 

The newspapers were filled with absurd rumors and state- 
ments concerning the movements and intentions of the Rebels. 
It was said that Beauregard had sixty thousand men at Ma- 
nassa*. A New York paper, having a large circulation, pic- 
tured Manassas as an impregnable position ; a plain com- 
manded by heavy guns upon the surrounding hills ! It is 
indeed a plain, but the "commanding" hills are wanting. 
Rumor reported that General Joseph E. Johnston, who was in 
the Shenandoah valley, destroying the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad, and burning the bridges across the Potomac, had 
thirty thousand men ; but we now know that his whole force 
consisted of nine regiments, two battalions of infantry, three 
hundred cavalry, and sixteen pieces of artillery. 

It was for the interest of the Rebels to magnify their numbers 
and resources. These exaggerations had their effect at the 
War Department in Washington. General Butler proposed 
the early occupation of Manassas, to cut off communication by 
rail between Richmond and upper Virginia, but his proposition 
was rejected by General Scott. The troops in and around 
Washington were only partially organized into brigades. There 
was not much system. Everybody was full of zeal and energy, 



6 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

and there was manifest impatience among the soldiers at the 
inactivity of the commander-in-chief. 

The same was true of the Rebels. They were mustering at 
Manassas. Regiments and battalions were pouring through 
Richmond. Southern women welcomed them with sweetest 
smiles, presented them with fairest flowers, and urged them 
on to drive the " usurper " from Washington. Southern, 
newspapers, from the commencement, had been urging the 
capture of the Federal capital. Said the Richmond Examiner^ 
of April 23d : — 

" Tlie capture of Washington is perfectly within the power of Vir- 
ginia and Marylaijd, if Virginia will only make the effort by her con- 
stituted authorities. Nor is there a single moment to lose. The 
entire population pant for the onset 

" From the mountain-tops and valleys to the shores of the sea, there 
is one wild shout of fierce resolve to capture Washington City, at all 
and every human hazard. That filthy cage of unclean birds must and 

will assuredly be purified by fire It is not to be endured that this 

flight of abolition harpies shall come down from the black North for 
their roosts in the heart of the South, to defile and brutalize the land. 
.... Our people can take it, — they will take it, — and Scott the 
arch-traitor, and Lincoln the beast, combined, cannot prevent it. The 
just indignation of an outraged and deeply injured people will teach 
the Illinois Ape to repeat his race and retrace his journey across the 
borders of the free negro States still more rapidly than he came ; and 
Scott the traitor will be given the opportunity at the same time to try 
the difference between Scott's tactics and the Shaughae drill for quick 
movements. 

" Great cleansing and purification are needed and will be given to 
that festering sink of iniquity, — that wallow of Lincoln and Scott, — the 
desecrated city of Washington ; and many indeed will be the carcasses 
of dogs and caitiffs that will blacken the air upon the gallows before 
the work is accomplished. So let it be." 

General Beauregard was the most prominent of the Rebel 
commanders, having been brought before the public by the 
surrender of Fort Sumter. Next in prominence were the two 
Johnstons, Joseph E. and Albert Sydney, and General Bragg. 
Stonewall Jackson had not been heard from. Lee liad just 
gone over to tlie Rebels. He had remained with General Scott, 
— his confidant and chief ad\iser, — till the 19th of April, and 



1861.] BEGINNING OF THE CONFLICT. 7 

was made commander of the Rebel forces in Virginia on the 
22d. The Convention of Virginia, then in session at Rich- 
mond, passed the ordinance of secession on the 17th, — to be 
submitted to the people for ratification or rejection five 
weeks later. Lee had therefore committed an act of treason 
without .the paltry justification of the plea that he was follow- 
ing the lead of his State. 

Such was the general aspect of affairs when, in June, I re- 
ceived permission from the War Department to become an 
army correspondent. 



FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 



CHAPTER I. 

AROUND WASHINGTON. 

In March, 1861, there was no town in Virginia more thriv- 
ing than Alexandria ; in June there was~no place so deso- 
late and gloomy, j I visited it on the 17th. Grass was grow- 
ing in the streets. Grains of c'orn had sprouted on the 
wharves, and were throwing up luxuriant stalks. The whole- 
sale stores were all closed; the dwellmg-houses were shut. 
Few of the inhabitants were to be seen. The stars and stripes 
waved over the Marshall House, the place where Ellsworth fell. 
A mile out from the city, on a beautiful plain, was the camp 
of the Massachusetts Fifth, in which were two companies from 
Charlestown. When at home they were accustomed to cele- 
brate the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill. Although 
now in the enemy's country, they could not forget the day. 
They sat down to an ample collation. Eloquent speeches 
were made, and an ode was sung, written by one of their 
number. 

" Though many miles away 
From home and friends to-day, 

We 're cheerful still ; 

For, brothers, side by side 

We stand in manly pride, 

( Beneath the shadow wide 

Of Bunker Hill." 

Boom — boom — boom was the quick report of far-dis- 
tant cannon. What could it be? A reconnoitring party of 
Ohio troops had gone up the Loudon railroad. Had anything 
happened to them? There were eager inquiries. The men 
fall into line, prepared for any emergency. A few hours later 
the train returned, bringing back the mangled bodies of those 
who fell in the ambuscade at Vienna. 

I talked with the wounded. They were moving slowly up 
the road, — a regiment on platform cars, pushed by the engine. 



1861.] AEOUND WASHINGTON. 9 

Before reacliing Vienna an old man stepped out from the 
bushes making signs and gestures for them to stop. 

"Don't go. Tlig 'Rebels are at Vienna." 

" Only guerillas, I T€6konf' said one of the officers. 

General Schenck, who was in command, waved his hand to 
the engineer, and the train moved on. Suddenly there were 
quick discharges of artillery, a rattling fire of small arms, and 
unearthly yells from front and flank, within an hundred yards. 
The unsuspecting soldiers were riddled with solid shot, can- 
ister, and rifle-balls. Some tumbled headlong, never to rise 
again. Those who were uninjured leaped from the cars. 
There was great confusion. 

" Lie down ! " cried some of the officers. 

" Fall in ! " shouted others. 

Each did, for the moment, what seemed best. Some of the 
soldiers fired at random, in the direction of the unseen enemy. 
Some crouched behind the cars ; others gained the shelter of 
the woods, where a line was formed. 

" Why don't you fall into line ? " was the sharp command 
of an officer to a soldier standing beside a tree. 

" I would, sir, if I could," was the reply, and the soldier ex- 
hibited his arm, torn by a cannon shot. 

They gathered up the wounded, carried them to the rear in 
blankets, began their homeward march, while the Eebels, 
eleven hundred strong, up to this moment sheltered behind a 
woodpile, rushed out, destroyed the cars, and retreated to 
Fairfax. 

When the news reached Alexandria, a portion of the troops 
there were hastily sent forward ; they had a weary march. 
Morning brought no breakfast, noon no dinner. A Secessionist 
had fled from his home, leaving his flocks and herds behind. 
The Connecticut boys appropriated one of the cows. They 
had no camp utensils, and were forced to broil their steaks 
upon the coals. It was my first dinner in the field. Salt was 
lacking, but hunger gave the meat an excellent seasoning. 
For table and furniture we had the head of a barrel, a jack- 
knife, and a chop-stick cut from a hazel-bush. 

Congress assembled on the 4th of July, and the members 
availed themselves of the opportunity to visit the troops. Val- 



10 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

landighara of Ohio, who by word and act had manifested his 
sympathy for the Rebels, visited the Second Ohio, commanded 
by Colonel McCook, afterwards Major-General. I witnessed 
the reception given him by the boys of the Buckeye State. 
The officers treated him courteously, but not cordially. Not 
so the men. 

" There is that d — d traitor in camp," said one, with flashing 
eyes. 

" He is no better than a Rebel," said another. 

" He helped slaughter our boys at Vienna the other day," 
said a third. 

" Let us hustle him out of camp," remarked a fourth. 

" Don't do anything rash. Let us inform liim that his pres- 
ence is not desired," said one. 

A committee was chosen to wait upon Vallandigham. They 
performed their duty respectfully. He heard them, and be- 
came red in the face. 

" Do you think that I am to be intimidated by a pack of 
blackguards from northern Ohio ? " he said. " I shall come to 
this camp as often as I please, — every day if I choose, — and I 
give you notice that I will have you taken care of. I shall 
report your insolence. I will see if a pass from General Scott 
is not to be respected." 

Turning to the officers, he began to inquire the names of the 
soldiers. The news that Vallandigham was there had spread 
throughout the camp, and a crowd was gathering. The sol- 
diers were sore over the slaughter at Vienna, and began to 
manifest their hatred and contempt by groans and hisses. 

" If you expect to frighten me, you have mistaken your man. 
I am ashamed of you. I am sorry for the honor of the State 
that you have seen fit to insult me," he said. 

" Who has the most reason to be ashamed, you of us, or we 
of you ? " said one of the soldiers. " We are here fighting for 
our country, which you are trying to destroy. What is 
your shame worth ? You fired at us the other day. You 
helped kill our comrades. There is n't a loyal man in the 
country whose check does not redden with shame whenever 
your name is mentioned," was the indignant reply. 

'Vallandigham walked into the officers' quarters. The sol- 



1861.] AEOUND WASHINGTON. 11 

diers soon had an ef^gj, labelled " Vallandigham the traitor," 
hanging by the neck from a tree. They riddled it with bullets, 
then took it down and rode it on a rail, the fifers playing the 
" Rogues' March." When Vallandigham left the camp, they 
gave him a farewell salute of groans and hisses. A few of the 
soldiers threw onions and old boots at him, but his person was 
uninjured. He did not repeat his visit. He was so cross-grained 
by nature, so thorough a traitor, that through the session of 
Congress and through the war he lost no opportunity to mani- 
fest his hatred of the soldiers. 

It was past sunset on the 9th of July, when, accompanied by 
a friend, I left Alexandria for Washington in an open carriage. 
Nearing the Long Bridge, an officer on horseback, in a red- 
flannel blouse, dashed down upon us, saying : " I am an officer 
of the Garibaldi Guard ; my regiment has mutinied, and the 
men are on their way to Washington ! I want you to hurry 
past them, give notice to the guard at the Long Bridge, and 
have the draw taken up." We promised to do so if possible, 
and soon came upon the mutineers, who were hastening towards 
the bridge. They were greatly excited. They were talking 
loud and boisterously in German. Their guns were loaded. 
There were seven nations represented in the regiment. Few 
of them could understand English. We knew that if we could 
get in advance of them, the two six-pounders looking down the 
Long Bridge, with grape and canister rammed home, would 
quell the mutiny. We passed those in the rear, had almost 
reached the head of the column, when out sprang a dozen in 
front of us and levelled their guns. Click — click — click 
went the locks. 

" You no goes to Vashington in ze advance ! " said one. 

" You falls in ^ rear ! " said another. 

" What does this mean ? " said my friend, who was an officer. 
" Where is your captain ? " he asked. 

The captain came up. 

"What right have your men to stop us, sir? Who gave 
them authority ? We have passes, sir ; explain this mat- 
ter." 

The captain, a stout, thick-set German, was evidently com- 



12 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

pletely taken aback by these questions, but, after a moment's 
hesitation, replied, — 

" No, zur, they no stops you ; it was von mistake, zur. They 
will do zo no more." Then approaching close to the carriage, 
he lowered his voice, and in a confidential tone, as if we were 
his best friends, asked, " Please, zur, vill you be zo kind as to 
tell me vat is the passvord ? " 

" It 's not nine o'clock yet. The sentinels are not posted. 
You need none." 

A tall, big- whiskered soldier had been listening. He could 
speak English quite well, and, evidently desiring to apologize 
for the rudeness of his comrades, approached and said, " You 
see we Garibaldians are having a time of it, and — " 

Here the captain gave him a vigorous push, with a " Hush ! " 
long drawn, which had a great deal of meaning in it. 

" I begs your pardons for ze interruption/' said the captain, 
extending his hand and bowing politely. 

Once more we moved on, but again the excited leaders, more 
furious than before, thrust their bayonets in our faces, again 
saying, " You no goes to Vashington in ze advance." One 
of them took deliberate aim at my breast, his eyes glaring 
fiercely. 

It would have been the height of madness to disregard their 
demonstration. They had reached the guard at the Virginia 
end of the bridge, who, at a loss to know what it meant, allowed 
them to pass unchallenged. 

Now that we were compelled to follow, there was time to 
think of contingencies. "What if our horses had started ? or 
what if in the darkness a soldier, grieving over his imaginary 
wrong, and reckless of life, had misunderstood us ? or what 
if the loyal officers of the regiment remaining at Alexandria 
had given notice by telegraph of what had happened, and those 
two cannon at the Washington end of the bridge had poured 
their iron hail and leaden rain along the causeway ? It was 
not pleasant to think of these possibilities, but we were in for 
whatever might happen ; and, remembering that God's provi- 
dence is always good and never evil, we followed our escort 
over the bridge. They halted on the avenue, while we rode 
with all speed to General Mansfield's quarters. 



1861.] AEOUND WASHINGTON. 13 

" I '11 have every one of the rascals shot ! " said the gray- 
haired veteran commanding the forces in Washington. An 
hour later the Garibaldians found themselves surrounded by 
five thousand infantry. They laid down their arms when they 
saw it was no use to resist, were marched back to Alexandria, 
and put to the hard drudgery of camp life. 

The soldiers had an amusing story to tell of one of their 
number who went into the lager-beer business, the sale of beer 
being then allowed. A sutler put a barrel on tap, and soon 
had a crowd of thirsty customers. But the head of the barrel 
was exposed in the rear. A soldier spying it, soon had that 
end on tap, and was doing a thriving business, selling at five 
cents a glass from his end of the barrel. He had a constant 
run of custom. When the crowd had satisfied their thirst, one 
of the soldiers approached the sutler. 

" What do you charge for a glass ? " he asked. 

" Ten cents." 

" Ten cents ! Why, I can get just as much as I want for 
five." 

" Not in this camp." 

" Yes, sir, in this camp." 

" Where, I should like to know ? " 

" Right round here." 

The sutler crawled out from his tent to see about it, and 
stood transfixed with astonishment when he beheld the opera- 
tion at the other end of his barrel. He was received with a 
hearty laugh, while the ingenious Yankee who was drawing 
the lager had the impudence to ask him if he would n't take 
a drink ! 

Virginia was pre-eminently the land of a feudal aristocracy, 
which prided itself on name and blood, — an aristocracy de- 
lighting to trace its lineage back to the cavaliers of Old Eng- 
land, and which looked down with haughty contempt upon the 
man who earned his bread by the sweat of his brow. The 
original " gentleman" of Virginia possessed great estates, which 
were not acquired by thrift and industry, but received as grants 
through kingly favor. But a thriftless system of agriculture, 
pursued unvaryingly through two centuries, had greatly re- 



14 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [J^lj, 

duccd the patrimony of many sons and daughters of tlie cava- 
liers, who looked out of broken windows and rickety dwellings 
upon exhausted lands, overgrown with small oaks and dimin- 
utive pines. Yet they clung with tenacity to their pride. 

" The Yankees arc nothing but old scrubs," said a little Vir- 
ginia girl of only ten years to me. 

A young lady was brought to General Tyler's head-quarters 
at Falls Church to answer a charge of having given informa- 
tion to the enemy. Her dress was worn and faded, her shoes 
were down at the heel and out at the toes. There was nothing; 
left of the estate of her fathers except a mean old house and 
one aged negro slave. She was reduced to absolute poverty, 
yet was too proud to work, and was waited upon by the super- 
annuated negro. 

" You are accused, madam, of having given information to 
the enemy," said General Tyler. 

The lady bowed haughtily. 

" You live in this old house down here ? " 

" I would have you understand, sir, that my name is De- 
laney. I did not expect to be insulted ! " she exclaimed, indig- 
nantly. Words cannot describe her proud bearing. It was a 
manifestation of her regard for blood, gentihty, name, and her 
hatred of labor. The history of the Rebellion was in that 
reply. 

Virginia was also the land of sirens. A captain in a Con- 
necticut regiment, lured by the sweet voice of a young lady, 
went outside of the pickets to spend a pleasant hour ; but sud- 
denly the Philistines were upon him, and he was a captive. 
Delilah mocked him as he was led away. Walking along 
the picket line on the 12th of July, I found a half-dozen Con- 
necticut boys under a fence, keeping close watch of Delilah's 
mansion. 

" There is a girl over there," said one of them, " who enticed 
our captain up to the house yesterday, when he was captured. 
Last night she came out and sung a song, and asked a lieuten- 
ant to go in and see her piano and take tea ; but he smelt a 
rat, and was shy. To-night there are four of us going to creep 
up close to the house, and he is going in to see the piano." 

The trap was set, but the Rebels did not fiill into it. 



1861.] AROUND WASHINGTON. 15 

The pickets brought in a negro, one of the first contrabands 
who came into the lines of the army of the Potomac. He was 
middle-aged, tall, black, and wore a checked cotton shirt and 
slouched hat. His boots were as sorry specimens of old leather 
as ever were worn by human beings. He came up timidly to 
head-quarters, guarded by two soldiers. He made a low bow 
to the General, not only with his head, but with his whole body 
and legs, ending the salaam with a scrape of his left foot, roll- 
ing his eyes and grinning from ear to ear. 

" What is your name ? " asked the General. 

" Sam Allston, sah." 

" Who do you belong to ? " 

" I belongs to Massa Allston, sah, from Souf Carolina." 

" Where is your master ? " 

" He be at Fairfax ; he belong to Souf Carolina regiment; 
sah." . 

" How came yoii here ? " 

" Why, ye see, General, massa told me to go out and buy 
some chickens, and I come right straight down here, sah." 

" You did n't expect to buy them here, did you ? " 

" No, sah ; but I thought I would like to see de Yankees." 

" I reckon I shall have to send you back, Sam." 

This was said not seriously, but to test Sam's sincerity. 

" I don't want to go back, sah. Would n't go back no how 
if I could help it ; rather go a thousand miles away up Norf 
than go down Souf, sah. They knock me about down there. 
Massa whipped me last week, for talking with de other niggers 
about de war. massa, don't send me back again ! I '11 do 
anything for you, massa." 

He was the picture of anguish, and stood wringing his hands 
while the tears rolled down his cheeks. Freedom, with all its 
imagined blessings, was before him ; slavery, with all its certain 
horrors, behind him. 

The General questioned him about the Rebels. 

" They say they will whip you Yankees. Dere 's right smart 
chance of 'em at Fairfax, General Bonham in command. "Souf 
Carolina is kinder mad at you Yankees. But now dey is kinder 
waiting for you to come, though they be packing up their trunks, 
as if getting ready to move." 



16 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

All of his stories corroborated previous intelligence, and his 
information was of value. 

" Well, Sam, I won't send you back," said the General. 
" You may go where you please about the camp." 

" De Lord God Almighty bless you, sah ! " was the joyful 
exclamation. There was no happier man in the world than 
Sam Allston that night. He had found that which his soul 
most longed for, — Freedom ! 



1861.] BULL RUN. 17 



CHAPTER II. 

BULL RUN. 

At noon, on the 17th of July, the troops under General 
McDowell took up their line of march toward Fairfax, with- 
out baggage, carrying three days' rations in their haversacks. 
One division, under General Tyler, which had been encamped 
at Falls Church, marched to Vienna, while the other divisions, 
moving from Alexandria, advanced upon Fairfax Court-House. 

It was a grand pageant, the long column of bayonets and 
high-waving flags. v^Union men whose homes were at Fairfax 
accompanied the march.j " It does my eyes good to see the 
troops in motion at last," said one. " I have been exiled 
seven weeks. I know nothing about my family, although I 
have been within a dozen miles of them all the time. I 
came from the North three years ago. The Secessionists 
hated me, they threatened to hang me, and I had to leave 
mighty sudden." 

The head of General Tyler's column reached Vienna at sun- 
set. The infantry turned into the fields, while the artillery 
took positions on the hills. Near the railroad was a large 
woodpile, behind which the South Carolinians took shelter, 
when they fired upon the Ohio boys on the cars. It was con- 
venient for bivouac fires, and the men helped themselves will- 
ingly. There I received instructions from Captain Alexander, 
of the engineers, an old campaigner in Mexico, which, durmg 
the four years of the war, I have never forgotten. 

" Always sleep on the lee side of your bivouac fire," he said. 
" The fire dries the ground, the heat envelopes you like a 
blanket ; it will keep off fever and ague. Better endure the 
discomfort of the smoke, better look like a Cincinnati ham, 
than to feel an ache in every bone in the morning, which you 
will be likely to feel if you spread your blankets on tlie wind- 
2 



18 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [J^lljj 

ward side, for then you have little benefit of the heat, but 
receive the full rush of the air, which chills you on one side, 
while you are roasting on the other." It was wise counsel, 
and by heeding it I have saved my bones from many an ache. 

It was at this place that a very laughable incident occurred. 
One of the citizens of Vienna had a bee-house well stocked 
with hives. A soldier espied them. He seized a hive and ran. 
Out came the bees, buzzing about his ears. Another soldier, 
thinking to do better, upset his hive, and seized the comb, drip- 
ping with honey. Being also hotly besieged, he dropped it, 
ran his hands through his hair, slapped his face, swung his 
arms, and fought manfully. Other soldiers seeing what was 
going on, and anxious to secure a portion of the coveted 
sweets, came up, and over went the half-dozen hives. The air 
was full of enraged insects, which stung men and horses indis- 
criminately, and which finally put a whole regiment to flight. 

The Southern newspapers at this time were " firing the 
Southern heart," as they phrased it, by picturing the vandal- 
ism of the North. Beauregard, on the 5th of June, at Manas- 
sas, issued a manifesto addressed " to the people of the coun- 
ties of Loudon, Fairfax, and Prince William." Thus it read : — 

" A reckless and unprincipled tj^rant has invaded your soil. Abra- 
ham Lincoln, regardless of all moral, legal, and constitutional re- 
straints, has thrown his abolition hosts among you, who are murdering 
and imprisoning your citizens, confiscating and destroying your prop- 
erty, and committing other acts of violence and outrage too shocking 
and revolting to humanity to be enumerated. 

" All rules of civilized warfare are abandoned, and they proclaim by 
their acts, if not on their banners, that their war cry is ' Beauty and 
Booty.' All that is dear to man, — your honor, and that of your wives 
and daughters, — your fortunes and your lives, are involved in this 
momentous conflict." 

In contrast to this fulmination of falsehoods, General Mc- 
Dowell liad issued an order on the 2d of June, three days pre- 
vious, directing officers to transmit statements on the following 
points : — 

" First. The quantity of land taken possession of for the several 
field-works, and the kind and vjxlue of the crops growing thereon, if 
any. Second. The quantity of land used for the several encampments, 



1861.] BULL RUN. 19 

and the kind and value of the growing crops, if any. Third. The 
number, size, and character of the buildings appropriated to public pur- 
poses. Fourth. The quantity and value of trees cut down. Fifth. The 
kind and extent of fencing destroyed. These statements will, as far as 
possible, give the value of the property taken, or of the damage sus- 
tained, and the name or names of the owners."* 

A portion of the troops bivouacked in an oat-field, where 
the grain was standing in shocks, and some of the artillerymen 
appropriated the convenient forage. 

The owner was complaining bitterly of the devastations. 
" They have taken my grain, and I want my pay for it," he 
said to me. 

" Are you a Union man ? " I asked. 

" I was for the Union till Virginia seceded, and of course I 
had to go with her ; but whether I am a Union man or not, the 
government is bound to respect private property," he replied. 

At that moment General Tyler rode past. 

" Say, General, ain't you: going to pay me for my property 
which your soldiers destroyed ? " 

" There is my quartermaster ; he will settle it with you." 

The man received a voucher for whatever had been taken. 
The column took up its line of march, passed through a narrow 
belt of woods, and reached a hill from which Fairfax Court- 
House was in full view. A Rebel flag was waving over the 
town. There were two pieces of Rebel artillery in a field, a 
dozen wagons in park, squads of soldiers in sight, horsemen 
galloping in all (directions. Nearer, in a meadow was a squad- 
ron of cavalr^'on picket. I stood beside Captain (since Gen- 
eral) Hawley of Connecticut, commanding the skirmishers. 

" Let me take your Sharpe's rifle," said he to a soldier. He 
rested it on the fence, ran his eye along the barrel, and fired. 
The nearest Rebel horseman, half a mile distant, slipped from 
his horse in an instant, and fell upon the ground. It was the 
first shot fired by the grand army on the march towards Ma- 
nassas. The other troopers put spurs to their horses and fled 
towards Fairfax, where a sudden commotion was visible. 

" The Rebels are in force just ahead ! " said an officer who 
had advanced a short distance into the woods. 



/ / * ^ 



* McDowell's Order. 



20 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

" I'irst and second pieces into position," said Captain Varian, 
commanding a New York battery. The horses leaped ahead, 
and in a moment the two pieces were pointing toward Fairfax. 
The future historian, or the traveller wandering over the bat- 
tle-fields of the Rebellion, who may be curious to know where 
the first cannon-shots were fired, will find the locality at Flint 
Hill, at that time the site of a small school-house. The cannon 
were on either side of the building. 

" Load with shell," was the order, and the cartridges went 
home in an instant. 

Standing behind the pieces and looking directly along the 
road under the shadow of the overhanging trees, I could see 
the Rebels in a hollow beyond a farm-house. The shells went 
screaming towards them, and in an instant they disappeared, 
running into the woods, casting away blankets, haversacks, and 
other equipments. 

The column moved on. The occupants of the house met us 
with joyful countenances. The good woman, formerly from 
New Jersey, brought out a pan of milk, at which we took a long 
pull. 

" I can't take pay ; it is pay enough to see your countenan- 
ces," she said. 

Turning from Fairfax road the troops moved toward Ger- 
mantown, north of Fairfax, — a place of six miserable huts, 
over one of which the Confederate flag was flying. Bonham's 
brigade of South Carolinians was there. Ayer's battery gal- 
loped into position. A shell was sent among them. They 
were about leaving, having been ordered to retreat by Beaure- 
gard. The shell accelerated their movements. Camp equi- 
page, barrels of flour, clothing, entrenching tools, were left 
behind, and we made ourselves merry over their running. 

Those were the days of romance. War was a pastime, a pic- 
nic, an agreeable diversion. 

A gray-haired old negro came out from his cabin, rolling his 
eyes and gazing at the Yankees. 

" Have you seen any Rebels this morning ? " we asked. 

" Gosh a'mighty, massa ! Dey was here as tliick as bees, ges 
'fore you cum ; but when dat ar bumshell cum screaming 
among 'era, dey ran as if de Ole Harry was after 'em." 



1861.] BULL RUN. * 21 

All of this, the flight of the Rebels, the negro's story, was 
exhilarating to the troops, who more than ever felt that the 
march to Richmond was going to be a nice affair. 

On the morning of the 18th the head of the column entered 
Centreville, once a thrifty place, where travellers from the 
western counties found convenient rest on their journeys to 
Washington and Alexandria. Its vitality was gone. The 
houses were old and poor. Although occupying one of the 
most picturesque situations in the world, it was in the last 
stages of decay. 

A German, met us with a welcome. Negro women peeped at 
us through the chinks of the walls where the clay had fallen 
out. At a large two-story house, which in former days re- 
flected the glory of the Old Dominion, sat a man far gone with 
consumption. He had a pitiful story to tell of his losses by 
the Rebels. . 

Here we saw the women of Centreville, so accomplished in 
the practice of snuff-dipping, filling their teeth and gums with 
snuff, and passing round the cup with one swab for the com- 
pany ! 

Richardson's brigade turned towards Blackburn's ford. 
Suddenly there was a booming of artillery, followed by a sharp 
skirmish, which Beauregard in his Report calls the first battle 
of Manassas. This was in distinction from that fought on the 
21st, which is generally known as the battle of Bull Run. 

It was a reconnoissance on the part of General Tyler to feel 
the position of the enemy. It might have been conducted more 
adroitly, without sacrifice. Under cover of skirmishers and 
artillery, their positions would have been ascertained ; no doubt 
their batteries could have been carried if suitable arrange- 
ments had been made. But the long cannonading brought 
down hosts of reinforcements from Manassas. And when too 
late, three or four regiments were ordered down to the support 
of the Union troops. 

The First Massachusetts received the hottest of the fire. One 
soldier in the thickest of the fight was shot ; he passed his 
musket to his comrade, saying, " It is all right, Bill," and im- 
mediately expired. The soldier standing next to Lieutenant- 
Colonel Wells, received two shots in his arm. He handed his 



22 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

gun to the Colonel, saying, " Here, I can't use it ; take it and 
use it." A great many of the soldiers had their clothes shot 
through. One had three balls in his coat, but came out un- 
harmed. 

As it is not intended that this volume shall be a history of 
the war, but rather a panorama of it, we must pass briefly in 
review the first great battle of the war at Bull Run, and the 
flight to Washington. 

The day was calm and peaceful. Everywhere save upon tlie 
heights of Ccntreville and the plains of Manassas it was a day 
of rest. 

" I '11 tell you what I heard that day, — 
I heard the great guns far away, 
Boom after boom ! " 

Long before sunrise the troops of the attacking column rose 
from their bivouac and moved away towards the west. The sun 
had but just risen when Benjamin's batteries were thundering 
at Blackburn's ford, and Tyler was pressing upon the Stone 
Bridge. It was past eight o'clock before the first light ripple 
of musketry was heard at Sudley Springs, where Burnside was 
turning the left flank of the Rebels. Then came the opening 
of the cannonade and the increasing roar as regiment after regi- 
ment fell into line, and moved- southward, through the thickets 
of pine. Sharp and clear above the musketry rose the cheers 
of the combatants. 

" If you whip us, you will lick ninety thousand men. We 
have Johnston's army with us. Johnston came yesterday, and 
a lot more from Richmond," said a prisoner, boastfully. 

Onward pressed the Union troops, success attending their 
arms. The battle was going in our favor. It was a little 
past three o'clock, when, standing by the broken-down stone 
bridge which the Rebels had destroyed, I had a full view of 
the action going on near Mrs. Henry's house. The field be- 
yond the Rebel line was full of stragglers. 

A correspondent of the Charleston Mercury thus writes of 
the aspect of affairs in the Rebel lines at that moment : — 

" When I entered the field at two o'clock the fortunes of the day were 
dark. The regiments so badly injured, or wounded and worn, as they 
staggered out gave gloomy pictures of the scene. We could not be 



1861.] BULL KUN. 23 

routed, perhaps, but it is doubtful whether we were destined to a 
victory." 

" All seemed about to be lost," wrote the correspondent of 
the Richmond Dispatch. There was a dust-cloud in the west, 
I saw it rising over the distant woods, approaching nearer each 
moment. A few moments later the fatal mistake of Major 
Barry was made.* Griffin and Ricketts could have over- 
whelmed the newly arrived troops, less than three regiments, 
with canister. But it was not so to be. One volley from the 
Rebels, and the tide of affairs was reversed ; and the Union 
army, instead of being victor, was vanquished. 

A few moments before the disaster by Mrs. Henry's house, I 
walked past General Schenck's brigade, which was standing in 
the road a few rods east of the bridge. A Rebel battery beyond 
the run was throwing shells, one of which ploughed through 
the Second Ohio, mangling two soldiers, sprinkling their warm 
blood upon the greensward. 

While drinking at a spring, there was a sudden uproar, a 
rattling of musketry, and one or two discharges of artillery. 
Soldiers streamed past, throwing away their guns and equip- 
ments. Ayer's battery dashed down the turnpike. A baggage- 
wagon was hurled into the ditch in a twinkling. A hack from 
Washington, which had brought out a party of Congressmen, 
was splintered to kindlings. Drivers cut their horses loose and 
fled in precipitate haste. Instinct is quick to act. There was 
no time to deliberate, or to obtain information. A swift pace 
for a half-mile placed me beyond Cub Run, where, standing 
on a knoll, I had a good opportunity to survey the sight, pain- 
ful, yet ludicrous to behold. The soldiers, as they crossed the 
stream, regained their composure and fell into a walk. But 
the panic like a wave rolled over Centreville to Fairfax. The 
teamsters of the immense wagon train threw bags of coffee and 
corn, barrels of beef and pork, and boxes of bread, upon the 
ground, and fled in terror towards Alexandria. The fright was 
soon over. The lines at Centreville were in tolerable order 
when I left that place at five o'clock. 

Experience is an excellent teacher, though the tuition is 
sometimes expensive. There has been no repetition of the 

* See " Days and Nights on the Battle-rield," p. 58. 



24 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

scenes of that afternoon during the war. The lesson was salu- 
tary. The Rebels on sevei-al occasions had the same difficulty. 
At Fair Oaks, Glendale, and Malvern we now know how greatly 
demoralized they became. No troops are exempt from the 
liability of a panic. Old players are not secure from stage 
fright. The coolest surgeon cannot always control his nerves. 
The soldiers of the Union in the battle of Bull Run were not 
cowards. They fought resolutely. The contest was sustained 
from early in the morning till three in the afternoon. The 
troops had marched from Centreville. The heat had been in- 
tense. Their breakfast was eaten at one o'clock in the morn- 
ing. They were hungry and parched with thirst, yet they 
pushed the Rebels back from Sudley Springs, past the turn- 
pike to the hill by Mrs. Henry's. 

There is abundant evidence that the Rebels considered the 
day as lost, when Kirby Smith arrived. 

Says the writer in the Richmond Dispatch, alluded to 
above : — j 

" They pressed our left flank for several hours with terrible effect, 
but our men flinched not till their numbers had been so diminished by 
the well-aimed and steady volleys that they were compelled to give 
way for new regiments. The Seventh and Eighth Georgia Regiments 
are said to have suffered heavily. 

( " Between two and three o'clock large numbers of men were leaving 
the field, some of them wounded, others exhausted by the long struggle, 
who gave us gloomy reports ^ but as the fire on both sides continued 
steadily, we felt sure that our brave Southerners had not been con- 
quered by the overwhelming hordes of the North. It is, however, due 
to truth to say that the result of this hour hung trembling in the bal- 
ance. We had lost numbers of our most distinguished oflScers. Gen- 
erals Bartow and Bee had been stricken down ; Lieutenant-Colonel 
Johnson of the Hampton Legion had been killed ; Colonel Hampton 
had been wounded. ^ 

" Your correspondent heard General John^h exclaim to General 
Cocke just at the critical moment, ' for four regiments ! ' His wish 
was answered, for in the distance our reinforcements appeared. The 
tide of battle was turned in our favor by the arrival of General Kirby 
Smith from Winchester, with four thousand men of General JohnJiOn's 
divj^ion. General Smith heard while on the Manassas Railroad cars 
the roar of battle. He stopped the train, and hurried his troops across 



1861.] BULL RUN. 'v^5^. 

the field to the point just where he was most needed. They were at 
first supposed to be the enemy, their arrival at that point of the field 
being entirely unexpected. The enemy fell back and a panic seized 
them." 

Smith had about seventeen hundred men instead of four 
thousand, but he came upon the field in such a manner, that 
some of the Union officers supposed it was a portion of McDow- 
ell's troops. Smith was therefore permitted to take a flanking 
position within close musket-shot of Rickett's and Griffin's bat- 
teries unmolested. One volley, and the victory was changed 
to defeat. Through chance alone it seemed, but really through 
Providence^ the Rebels won the field. The cavalry charge, of 
which so much was said at the time, was a feeble affair. The 
panic began the moment that Smith opened upon Ricketts and 
Griffin. The cavalry did not advance till the army was in full 
retreat. 

L It is laughable to read the accounts of the battle published 
in the Southern papers.y The Richmond Dispatch has a letter 
written from Manassas 23d July, which has throughout evi- 
dences of candor, and yet this writer says, " We have captured 
sixty-seven pieces of artillery," while we had only thirty-eight 
guns on the field. Most necromancers have the ability to pro- 
duce hens' eggs without number from a mysterious bag, but 
how they could capture sixty-seven pieces of cannon, when 
McDowell had but thirty-eight, is indeed remarkable. The 
same writer asserts that we carried into action the Palmetto 
State and the Confederate flags. 

Here is the story of a wonderful Xiannon-ball. Says the 
writer : "A whole regiment of the enemy appeared in sight, 
going at double-quick down the Centreville road. Major Wal- 
ton immediately ordered another shot. With the aid of our 
glass we could see them about two miles off. There was no 
obstruction, and the whole front of the regiment was exposed. 

One half were seen to fall, and if General Johnston had not at 
that moment sent an order to cease firing, nearly the whole 
regiment would have been killed ! " The half that did not fall 
ought to be grateful to Major Walton for not firing a second 
shot. The writer says in conclusion : " Thus did fifteen thou- 
sand men, with eighteen pieces of artillery, drive back inglori 



\ 



26 / FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

ously a force exceeding thirty-five thousand, supported by nearly 
one hundred pieces of cannon. We have captured nine hun- 
dred prisoners, sixty-seven pieces of cannon, Armstrong guns 
and rifled cannon, hundreds of wagons, loads of provisions and 
ammunition." 

One writer asserted that thirty-two thousand pairs of hand- 
cuffs were taken, designed for Rebel prisoners ! This absurd 
statement was believed throughout the South. In January, 
1862, while in Kentucky, I met a Southern lady who de- 
clared that it must be true, for she had seen a pair of the 
handcuffs ! 

Tlie war on the part of the North was undertaken to uphold 
the Constitution and the Union, but the battle of Bull Run set 
men to thinking. Four days after the battle, in Washington 1 
met one who all his lifetime had been a Democrat, stand- 
ing stanchly by the South till the attack on Sumter. Said 
he : " I go for liberating the niggers. We are fighting on a 
false issue. The negro is at the bottom of the trouble, i- The 
South is fighting for the negro, and nothing else. They use 
him to defeat us, and we shall be compelled to use him to 
defeat them." 

These sentiments were gaining ground. General Butler had 
retained the negroes who came into his camp, calling them 
" contraband of war.')' ("Men were beginning to discuss the 
propriety of not only retaining, but of seizing, the slaves of those 
who were in arms against the government. ) The Rebels were 
using them in the construction of fortifications. Why not place 
them in the category with gunpowder, horses, and cattle ? The 
reply was, " We must respect the Union people of the South." 
But where were the Union people ? 

There were some in Western Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, 
and Missouri ; but very few in Eastern Virginia. At Centre- 
ville there was one man in the seedy village who said he was 
for the Union : he was a German. At a farm-house just out 
of the village, I found an old New-Yorker, who was for the 
Union ; but the mass of the people, men, women, and chil- 
dren, had fled, — their minds poisoned with tales of the brutal- 
ity of Northern soldiers. The mass of the people bore toward 
their few neighbors, who still stood for the Union, a most im- 



1861.] BULL EUN. 27 

placable hatred. I recall the woebegone look which over- 
spread the countenance of a good woman at Vienna on Sunday 
night, when, as she gave me a draught of milk, I made a plain, 
candid statement of the disaster which had befallen our army. 
Her husband had been a friend to the Federal army, had 
given up liis house for officers' quarters ; had suffered at the 
hands of the Rebels ; had once been obliged to flee, leaving 
his wife and family of six children, all of tender age, and the 
prospect was gloomy. He had gone to bed, to forget in sleep, 
if possible, the crushing blow. It was near midnight, but the 
wife and mother could not sleep. She was awake to every 
approaching footstep, heard every sound, knowing that within 
a stone's throw of the dwelling there were those, in former 
times fast friends, who now would be among the first to hound 
her and her little ones from the place ; and why ? because they 
loved the Union ! 

What had produced this bitterness ? There could be but 
one answer, — Slavery. It was clear that, sooner or later, the 
war would become one of emancipation, — freedom to the 
slave of every man found in arms against the government, or 
in any way aiding or abetting treason. How seductive, how 
tyrannical this same monster Slavery ! 

Three years before the Ji^ar, a young man, born and edu- 
cated among the mountams of Berkshire County, Massachu- 
setts, graduating at Wimams College, visited Washington, and 
called upon Mr. Dawes, member of Congress from Massachu- 
setts, to obtain his influence in securing a position at the 
South as a teacher. Mr. Dawes knew the young man, son 
of a citizen of high standing, respected not only as a citizen, 
but in the highest branch of the Legislature of the State in 
former times, and gladly gave his influence to obtain the 
situation. A few days after the battle Mr. Dawes visited 
the Old Capitol prison to see the prisoners which had been 
brought in. To his surprise he found among them the young 
man from Berkshire, wearing -the uniform of a Rebel. 

" How could you find it in your heart to fight against the 
flag of your country, to turn your back upon your native State, 
and the institutions under which you have been trained ? " 
he asked. 



h\^^rL 



28 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

" I did n't want to fight against the flag, but I was com- 
pelled to." 

" How compelled ? " 

"Why, you see, they knew I was from the North ; and if I 
hadn't enlisted, the ladies would have presented me with a 
petticoat." 

He expressed himself averse to taking the oath of alle- 
giance. It was only when allusion was made to his parents, 
— the poignant grief which would all but break his mother's 
heart, were she to hear of him as a soldier in the traitocs' 
lines, — that he gave way, and his eyes filled with tears. 
He could turn against his country, his State, the institutions 
of freedom, because his heart was in the South, because he 
had dreaded the finger of scorn which would have cowed him 
with a petticoat, but he could not blot out the influence of a 
mother's love, a mother's patriotism. He had not lived long 
enough under the hot breath of the simoom to have all the 
early associations withered and crisped. The mention of 
" mother " made him a child again. 

With him was another Massachusetts man, who had been 
South many years, and who was more intensely Southern than 
himself. Another young man, a South Carolinian, was a law 
student in Harvard College when his State seceded. He went 
home to enlist. " If it had not been for the war I should now ' 
be taking my degree," said he. He was rejoicing over the 
result of the battle. 

Slavery is not only tyrannical, but it is corrupting to morals. 
The Secessionists of St. Joseph, Missouri, in their eagerness to 
precipitate a Kansas regiment to destruction, burned a bridge 
on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, a few miles east of 
St. Joseph. The train left the city at three o'clock in the 
morning, and reached the bridge" before daybreak. The reg- 
iment was not on board, and instead of destroying a thousand 
Union soldiers, a large number of the citizens of St. Joseph, — 
with women and children, friends and neighbors of the Seces- 
sionists, — were plunged into the abyss ! 

The action of these Missouri barbarians was applauded by 
the Secessionists of AVashington. A friend came into my room 
late one evening in great excitement. 



1861.] BULL EUN. ^ 

" What is the matter ? " 

" I am sick at heart," said he, " at what I have heard. ■ 
I called upon some of my female acquaintances to-night. I 
knew that they were Secessionists, but did not think that they 
were so utterly corrupt as I find them to be. They are re- 
fined, intelligent, and have moved in the first society of Wash- 
ington. They boldly declared that it was justifiable to destroy 
that railroad train in Missouri ; that it is right to poison 
wells, or violate oaths of allegiance, to help on the cause of 
the South ! " 

The bitterness of the women of the South during the Rebel- 
lion is a strange phenomenon, without a parallel in history. 
For the women of Ireland, who in the rebellion of '98 cut off 
the heads of English residents, and chopped up their victims 
by piecemeal, were from the bogs and fens, — one remove only 
from the beasts ; but these women of the South lay claims to 
a superior culture. It is one thing to be devoted heart and 
soul to a cause, but it is quite another to advance it at the cost 
of civilization, Christianity, and the womanly virtues. 

The assertion that all women of the South thus gave them- 
selves over to do wickedly, would be altogether too sweeping ; 
a large portion may be included. Mrs. Greenhow and Belle 
Boyd have written out some of their exploits and machinations 
for the overthrow of the Union. With them, a false oath or 
any measure of deceit, was praiseworthy, if it would but aid 
the Secession cause. They are fair representatives of the 
females of the South. 



30 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Oct. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE FALL OF 1861. 

The monms of August and September passed away without 
any action on the part of General McClellan, who had been ap- 
pointed commander of the Army of the Potomac. 

The disaster at Ball's Bluif occurred on the 21st of October, 
just three months after the battle of Bull Run. On the after- 
noon of the 22d the news was whispered in Washington. 
Riding at once with a fellow-correspondent, Mr. H. M. Smith 
of the Chicago Tribune, to General McClcllan's head-quarters, 
and entering the anteroom, we found President Lincoln there. 
I had met him on several occasions, and he was well acquaint- 
ed with my friend. He greeted us cordially, but sat down 
quickly, rested his head iipon his hand, and seemed to be un- 
usually agitated. His eyes were sunken, his countenance hag- 
gard, his whole demeanor that of one who was in trouble. 

" Will you please step in here, Mr. President," said an or- 
derly from an adjoining room, from whence came the click of 
the telegraph. He soon came out, with his hands clasped upon 
his breast, liis head bowed, his body bent as if he were carrying 
a great burden. He took no notice of any one, but with down- 
cast eyes and faltering steps passed into the street and towards 
the Executive mansion. 

" We have met with a sad disaster. Fifteen hundred men 
lost, and Colonel Baker killed," said General ]\Iarcy. 

It was tliat which had overwhelmed the President. Colonel 
Baker was his personal friend. They had long been intimately 
acquainted. In speaking of that event afterwards, Mr. Lincoln 
said that it smote him like a whirlwind in a desert. Few men 
have been appointed of God to bear such burdens as were laid 
upon President Lincoln. A distracted country, a people at 
war, all the foundations of society broken up ; the cares, trjals, 






1861.] THE FALL OF 1861. 31 

and perplexities which came every day without cessation, dis- 
aster upon disaster, the loss of those he loved, — Ellsworth, 
Baker, and his own darling Willie. A visitor at the White 
House the day of Ellsworth's death found him in tears. 

" I will make no apology, gentlemen," said he, " for my 
weakness ; but I knew poor Ellsworth well, and held him in 
great regard. Just as you entered the room. Captain Fox left 
me, after giving me the painful details of Ellsworth's unfortunate 
death. The event was so unexpected, and the recital so touch- 
ing, that it quite unmanned me. Poor fellow," If^ added, " it 
was undoubtedly a rash act, but it only shows the heroic spirit 
that animates our soldiers, from high to low, in this righteous 
cause of ours. Yet who can restrain grief to see them fall in 
such a way as this, — not by the fortunes of war, but by the hand 
of an assassin? " 

The first time I ever saw Mr. Lincoln was the day after his 
nomination by the Chicago Convention. I accompanied the 
committee appointed to inform him of the action of the Con- 
vention to Springfield. It was sunset when we reached the 
plain, unpretentious two-story dwelling, -— his Springfield home. 
Turning to the left as we entered the hall, and passing into the 
library, we stood in the presence of a tall man, .with large fea- 
tures, great, earnest eyes, a countenance which, once looked 
upon, forever remembered. He received the committee with 
dignity and yet with e^ddent constraint of manner. The ad- 
dress of Mr. Ashmun, chairman of the committee, was brief, 
and so was Mr. Lincoln's reply. Then followed a general in- 
troduction of the party. 

There was a pitcher of ice-water and goblets on a stand, but 
there were no liquors. The next morning a citizen narrated 
the following incident. 

When the telegraph informed Mr. Lincoln's neighbors that 
the committee were on their way, a few of his friends called 
upon him to make arrangements for their reception. 

" You must have some refreshments prepared," said they. 

" certainly, certainly. What shall I get ? " 

" You will want som^ brandy, whiskey, wines, &c." 

" I can't do that, gentlemen. I never have kept liquors, and 
I can't get them now." 



32 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Oct. 

" Well, we will supply them." 

" No, gentlemen, I can't permit you to do what I would not 
do myself. I will furnish good water and enough of it, but no- 
liquors." 

He adhered to his decision ; and thus at the beginning of 
the contest gave an exhibition of that resoluteness of cliaracter, 
that determination of will to adhere to what he felt was right, 
which was of such inestimable value to the nation, in carrpng 
the cause of the Union triumphantly through all the dark days 
of the RebcHion. 

It was sunset when Mr. Smith and myself reached Poolsville, 
after a rapid horseback ride from Washington. The quarter- 
masters were issuing clothing to those who had cast away their 
garments while swimming the river. The night was cold. 
There had been a heavy fall of rain, and the ground was 
miry. It was a sad spectacle, those half-naked, shivering 
soldiers, who had lost everything, — clothes, equipments, and 
arms. They were almost heart-broken at the disaster. 

" I enlisted to fight," said one, " but I don't want to be 
slaughtered. my God ! shall I ever forget that sight, when 
the boat went down ? " He covered his face with his hands, 
as if to shut out the horrid spectacle. 

Colonel Baker was sent across the river with the Fifteenth 
and Twentieth Massachusetts, a portion of the Tammany Regi- 
ment of New York, and the California regiment. Colonel Baker's 
own, in all about fifteen hundred men. His means of com- 
munication were only an old scow and two small boats. He 
was left to fight unassisted four thousand Rebels. Soon after 
he fell, there was a sudden rush to the boats, which, being over- 
loaded, were instantly swamped. The Rebels had it all their 
own way, standing upon the bank and shooting the drowning 
men. Colonel Baker's body had been brought off, and -ww-s 
lying at Poolsville. The soldiers of his own regiment were in- 
consolable. 

Poolsville is an insignificant village, situated in one of the 
richest agricultural districts of Maryland, surrounded by gentle 
swells of land, wooded^vales, verdant slopes, broad fields, with 
the far-off mountain ranges and sweeping Potomac, — that com- 



1861.] THE FALL OF 1861. 33 

bination which would be the delight of a painter who loves 
quiet rural scenery. The soil is fertile, and needs only good 
culture to yield an hundred-fold. Amid such native richness 
stands the village, — a small collection of nondescript houses, 
with overhanging roofs, wide porticos, or sheds which answer 
for piazzas, mammoth chimneys, built outside the edifice, as 
if they were afterthoughts when the houses were constructed. 
The streets are narrow, and the dwellings are huddled together 
as if there were but one corner lot, and all were trying to get as 
close to it as possible, reminding one of a crowd of boys round 
the old-fashioned fireplace of a country school-house on a win- 
ter's morning. There is not a new house in the place. The 
newest one was built many years ago. You look in vain for 
neat white cottages, with well-kept grounds. You are aston- 
ished at the immense number of old wagons and carriages, with 
rickety tops, torn canvas, broken wheels, shafts, and battered 
bodies, — of old lumber-carts and other weather-beaten vehi- 
cles under skeleton sheds. Look where you will, you come to 
the conclusion that time has sucked out the juice of everything. 
There is no freshness, no sign of a renewal of life or of present 
vitality. There are a small church, and two seedy, needy tav- 
erns, — mean-looking, uninviting places, each with its crowd 
of idle men, canvassing the state of public affairs. 

Such was the village in 1861. The streets were alive with 
"little images of God cut in ebony," as Mrs. Stowe calls a 
negro child. Many of the " images," however, by contact with 
the Anglo-Saxon race, through Slavery, had become almost 
white. There were three or four hundred inhabitants, a few 
wealthy, with many poor. 

We found accommodations at the best private residence in 
the place. The owner had a number of outlying farms, and 
was reported to be very wealthy. He was courteous, and pro- 
fessed to be a Union man. He was disposing of his hay and 
grain to the United States government, receiving the highest 
prices at his own door. Yet when conversing with him, he 
said, " your army," " your troops," as if he were a foreigner. 
A funeral procession passed the house, — a company of the 
Massachusetts Fifteenth, bearing to tlie village graveyard a 
comrade, who had laid down his life for his country at Ball's 
3 



34 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Oct. 

Bluff. Said the wife of my host to a friend as they passed : 
" Their government has got money enough, and oiiglit to take 
the bodies away ; we don't want them buried here ; it will make 
the place unhealthy." These expressions revealed one thing : 
that between them and the Federal Union and the Constitution 
there was no bond of unity. There was no nationality binding 
us together. Once they woTild not have spoken of the army 
of the United States as " your army." What had caused this 
alienation ? Slavery. An ebony-hued chattel kindled my fire 
in the morning and blacked my boots. A yellow chattel stood 
behind my chair at breakfast. A stout chattel, worth twelve 
hundred dollars, groomed my horse. There were a dozen 
young chattels at play upon the piazza. My host was an owner 
of human flesh and blood. That made him at heart a Seces- 
sionist. The army had not interfered with Slavery. Slaves 
found their way into the camp daily, and were promptly re- 
turned to their professedly loyal masters. Yet the presence 
of the troops was odious to the slaveholders. 

In the quiet of affairs around Washington I visited Eastern 
Maryland, accompanied by two members of the press. The 
Rebels had closed the navigation of the Potomac by erecting 
batteries at Cockpit Point. General Hooker's division was at 
Budd's Ferry, Port Tobacco, and other places down the river. 
It was the last day of October, — one of the loveliest of the 
year, — when we started upon our excursion. 

No description can convey an idea of the incomparable love- 
liness of the scenery, — the broad river, with the slow-moving 
sail-boats, the glassy, unruffled surface, reflecthig canvas, masts, 
and cordage, the many-colored hills, rich with autumnal tints, 
the marble piles of the city, the broad streets, the more distant 
Oeorgetown, the thousands of white tents near and far away, 
with all the nice shading and blending of varied hue in the 
mellow light. On every hill-top we lingered to enjoy the rich- 
ness of nature, and to fix in memory the picture which, under 
the relentless hand of war, would soon be robbed of its pecu- 
liar charms. 

Ten miles out and all was changed. The neat, tasteful, 
comfortable residences were succeeded by the most dilapidated 
dwellings. The fields, green with verdure, gave place to 



1861.] THE FALL OF 1861. 35 

sandy barrens. To say that everybody and everything were 
out at the elbows and down at the heels is not sufficient. 
One must see the old buildings, — the crazy roofs, the unglazed 
windows, the hingeless doors, the rotting stoops, the reeling 
barns and sheds, leaning in every direction, as if all were in 
drunken carousal, — the broken fences, the surrounding lum- 
ber, — of carts, wagons, and used-up carriages, to obtain a 
correct idea of this picture, so strongly and painfully in con- 
trast to that from the hill-tops overlooking the capital of the 
country. 

The first stopping-place for travellers is the "White Horse." 
We had heard much of the White Horse, and somehow had 
great expectations, or rather an undefined notion that Clark 
Mills or some other artist had sculptured from white marble a 
steed balanced on his hind legs and leaping toward the moon, 
like that in front of the Presidential mansion ; but our great 
expectations dwindled like Pip's, when we descended a hill 
and came upon a whitewashed, one-story building, — a log- 
house, vminviting to man or beast. A poplar in front of the 
domicile supported a swinging sign, on which the country artist 
had displayed his marvellous skill in painting a white horse 
standing on two legs. It was time for dinner, and the land- 
lady spread the table for her guests. There was no gold-tinted 
bill of fare, with unpronounceable French phrases, no long line 
of sable waiters in white aprons. My memory serves me as to 
the fare. 

Pork, Pone, Potatoes. 

The pork was cold, pone ditto, potatoes also. Pone is un- 
raised corn-cake baked in the ashes, and said to be good for 
indigestion. It is a favorite cake in the South. 

A saffron-hued young man, — tall and lean, with a sharp 
nose and thin face, sat on the steps of the White Horse. 

" The ager got hold of me yesterday and shook me right 
smart," he said. " It is a bad place for the ager. The people 
that used to live here have all moved away. The land is run 
out. They have terhakkered it to death. We can't raise noth- 
ing, and it ain't no use to try." He pointed to a deserted 
farm-house standing on a hill, and said, " There 's a place the 
owner has left to grow up to weeds. He can't get nobody to 
carry it on." 



86 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Oct. 

A stately brick mansion, standing back from the highway, 
once the residence of a man of wealth and taste, with blinds, 
portico, and carriage-house, elaborate in design and finish, 
was in the last stages of ruin. The portico had settled 
away from the house. The roof was hollowed like a weak- 
backed horse, the chimneys were tnml)ling, blinds swinging by 
a hinge, windows smashed, outhouses tipsy with age and 
neglccty all presenting a most repulsive appearance. How 
changed from former years, when the courteous, hospitable 
proprietor of the estate received his guests at the magnificent 
portico, ushered them to his spacious halls, opened the side- 
Ijoard and drank to their health, while attendant slaves took 
the horses to the stables ! It is easy to fill up the picture, — 
the grand dinner, the walk over the estate, the stroll by the 
river, the duck-shooting on the marshes, the gang of slaves 
in the tobacco-patch, the army of black and yellow servants in 
the kitchens, chambers, and parlors. When this old house 
was in its glory, this section of Maryland was in its prime ; 
but how great the change ! 

It was sad to think of the departed days. Our reflections 
were of what the place had been, what it was, and what it 
might have been, had Maryland in the beginning of her his- 
tory accepted Freedom instead of Slavery. 

Taverns are not frequent in the vicinity of Pomunkey, and 
it was necessary that we should seek private hospitality for the 
night. A first attempt for accommodations brought us to a 
house, but the owner had no oats, hay, or corn ; a second ride 
in from the highway, brought us to a whitewashed farm-house, 
with immense outside chimneys, piazza, adjoining mud-chinked 
negro-quarters, with chimneys of sticks and clay, and a dozen 
surrounding buildings, — as usual, all tumbling to pieces. 
Explanations as to who we were secured kind hospitality from 
the host, a gray-headed man, with a family consisting of hib 
wife, three grown-up sons, and nine adult daughters. 

• " Such as I have is at your service, gentlemen," said our 
host. But he had no hay, no oats, no corn, nothing but sJiucks 
for our horses. Our supper consisted of fried pork, fried salt 
shad, pone, wheat-cakes, pea-coffee, strawberry-leaf tea, sweet- 
ened with damp brown sugar ! 



1861.] THE FALL OF 1861. 37 

" "We don't raise butter in this section of the State," said our 
host, in apology. 

The supper was relished after an afternoon ride of thirty miles. 
The evening being chilly, a roaring fire was kept up in the old- 
fashioned fireplace. The daughters put on their most attrac- 
tive attire, and left nothing untried to entertain their three vis- 
itors. Could we dance ? Unfortunately we could not. It was 
a serious disappointment. They evidently had anticipated hav- 
ing " a good time." One of the ladies could play a violin, 
and treated us to jigs, reels, and hornpipes. 

" You must sing the gentlemen a song, Jane," said one. 

Jane turned scarlet at the suggestion, but finally, after polite 
requests and a little urging, turned her back to the company, 
faced the corner of the room, and sang a love-song. She could 
sing " Dixie," but knew nothing of the " Star-Spangled Ban- 
ner" or "Hail Columbia." The young ladies were in sym- 
pathy with the Rebellion. 

" It must be expected that Southern people should sympa- 
thize with the South," said our host. 

" You own some slaves ? " I said. 

" I have three servants, sir. I think," he added, " that the 
people of Eastern Maryland would be more favorable towards 
the Union if they could be assured that the war would not 
finally become one of emancipation. My neighbor over there 
had a servant who ran away into the camp of one of the New 
York regiments. He went after him. The Colonel told the 
master to take him, but the servant would n't leave till the 
Colonel drew his pistol and threatened to shoot him. But not- 
withstanding that, I reckon that the war will make them rest- 
less." It was spoken frankly and unreservedly. 

It was pitiable to walk round his farm in the morning, to 
see everywhere the last stages of decay, — poor, worn-out lands, 
broken-down fences, weedy fields, pastures without a blade of 
grass, leafless orchards, old buildings, — everything a wreck ; 
and yet to know that he was wedded to the very institution 
which was reducing the country to a wilderness. He was not 
an owner of the estate, but a rentee. He paid one Imndred 
and fifty dollars rental for three hundred acres of land, and yet 
confessed that he was growing poorer year by year. Tobacco, 



38 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Oct. 

corn, and oats were the only crops. lie could get no manure. 
He could make no hay. lie kc])t two cows, but made no but- 
ter. The land was being exhausted, and he did not know what 
he should come to. All energy and life were gone ; we saw 
only a family struggling against fate, and yet clinging with a 
death-grapple to the system that was precipitating their ruin. 

" Why do you not go to Illinois ? " 

" 0, sir, I am too old to move. Besides, this is home." 

We pictured the boundless resources of the West, the fertile 
lands, the opportunities for bettering his condition, but our 
words fell upon an inert mind. As a last argument, we said ; 
" You have a large family of daughters. In Illinois there are 
thousands of young men wanting wives, who will make good 
husbands. There are few young men here, but good homes 
await your daughters there." 

There were blushes, smiles, and sparkling eyes from the 
" sacred nine." My fellow-correspondent of the Chicago Trib- 
une then drew a florid picture of the West, — of the need of the 
State for such good-looking, virtuous ladies. His eloquence was 
persuasive. One of the daughters wanted to know how far it 
was to Illinois ; but when informed that it was a thousand miles, 
her countenance fell. Bliss so far away was unattainable. 

We passed a second night with our host, who, during our 
absence, sent one of the servants a dozen miles to obtain some 
butter, so courteous an entertainer was he. Yet he was strug- 
gling with poverty. He kept three slaves to wait upon his 
nine grown-up unmarried daughters, who were looking out 
upon a dark future. There was not a single gleam of light 
before them. They could not work, or, at the best, their work 
was of trifling account. What would become of them ? That 
was the one question ever haunting the father. 

" Why do you keep your slaves ? they are a bill of cost to 
you every year," we said. 

" I know it. They are lazy, shiftless, and they will steal, 
notwithstanding they have enough to eat and wear ; but then 
I reckon I could n't get along without them very well. Sam 
is an excellent groom, and Joe is a good jiloughman. He 
can do anything if he has a mind to ; but he is lazy, like all 
the rest. I reckon that I could n't get along without him, 
though." 



1861.] THE FALL OF 1861. 39 

" Your sons can groom your horses and do your ploughing." 

" Yes ; but then they like to fish and hunt, you know ; and 
you can't expect them to do the Ifork of the servants." 

The secret was out. Slavery made labor dishonorable. 

Conversing with another farmer about the negroes, he said : 
" They steal all they can lay their hands on ; and since the 
Yankee troops have been in camp round here, they are ten 
times as bad as they used to be. My chickens are fast disap- 
pearing. The officers buy them, I reckon." 

We thought it quite likely ; for having passed several days in 
General Hooker's division, we could bear testimony to the ex- 
cellent fare of the officers' m^ss, — chickens served in all the 
various forms known to culinary art. It was convenient for 
officers thus to supply themselves with poultry. Of course the 
slave would say that he was the lawful owner of the poultry. 
Why shoidd he have any compunctions of conscience about 
disposing of tlie chickens roosting on his master's apple-trees, 
when his labor, his life, his happiness, his children, — all his 
rights were stolen from him by his master ? If the sword cut 
in one direction, why not in another ? 

A few days later, in November, we visited Annapolis, a 
quaint old city. The streets all centre at the State-House 
and St. John's Church. There are antiquated houses with 
mossy roofs, brass knockers on the doors, which were built two 
hundred years ago. We were carried back to the time of the 
Revolution, when Annapolis was in its glory. 

One would suppose, in walking past the substantial stone 
mansions, that the owners were living at ease, in quiet and 
seclusion ; that they had notes, mortgages, and bonds laid by 
for a rainy day : but a fair outside does not always indicate 
health within. In many of those old mansions, grand in pro- 
portion, elaborate with cornice, there was nothing but famine. 
How strong is aristocratic pride ! Poverty cannot subdue it. 
Men and women lived there sorely pressed to keep up even a 
threadbare appearance, who, before the war, held soul and 
body together by raising negroes for the Southern market, and 
by waiting upon the Assembly when in session. They would 
have deemed it degrading to hold social intercourse Avith a 
mason or a blacksmith, or with any one compelled to earn his 



40 rOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [NoV. 

bread by the sweat of his brow. In poverty they nursed their 
pride. The castes of Hindostan were hardly more distinct. 
It is easy to see how a community can become Ufeless under 
such a state of society. The laboring men had gone away, — 
to the West, to Baltimore, or to localities where it is not a 
crime to work for a livelihood. In consequence, enterprise had 
died, property had depreciated, and the entire place had become 
poverty-stricken . 

On the succeeding Sunday I was in Washington, where a 
superintendent of one of the Sabbath schools was spending a 
portion of the hour in singing. Among other songs was Rev. 
S. F. Smith's national hymn, — . 

" My country, 't is qf thee, 
Sweet land of liberty." 

Among the persons present were three ladies, members of a 
family sympathizing with secession. With unmistakable signs 
of disgust, they at once left the house ! . 

Not only at church, but in the army, the spirit of slavery 
was rampant. The Hutchinson family visited Washington. 
They solicited permission from the Secretary of War, Mr. Cam- 
eron, to visit the camps in Virginia and sing songs to the sol- 
diers, to relieve the tedious monotony of camp life. Their 
request was granted, and their intentions cordially commended 
by the Secretary ; and, being thus indorsed, received General 
McClellan's pass. Their songs have ever been of freedom. 
They were welcomed by the soldiers. But there were officers 
in the service who believed in slavery, who had been taught 
in Northern pulpits that it was a divinely appointed, benefi- 
cent institution of Almighty God. Information was given to 
General McClellan that the Hutchinsons were poisoning the 
minds of the troops by singing Abolition songs ; and their career 
as free concert givers to the patriotic soldiers was suddenly 
ended by the following order from head-quarters : — 

" By direction of Major-General McClellan, the permit given to 
the Hutchinson family to sing in the camps, and their pass to cross the 
Potomac, are revoked, and they will not be allowed to sing to the 
troops." 

Far from the noise and strife of war, on the banks of the 



1861.] THE FALL OF 1861. 41 

Merrimack, lived the poet of Peace and of Freedom, whose 
songs against oppression and wrong have sunk deep into the 
hearts of the people. Whittier heard of the expulsion of the 
Hutchinsons, and as if inspired by a spirit divine, wrote the 

" EIN FESTE BURG 1ST UNSER GOTT. * 

" We wait beneath the furnace-blast 
The pangs of transformation ; 
Not painlessly doth God recast 
And mould anew the nation. 
Hot burns the fire 
Where wrongs expire ; 
Nor spares the hand 
That from the land 
Uproots the ancient evil. 

" The hand-breadth cloud the sages feared 
Its bloody rain is dropping ; 
The poison plant the fathers spared 
All else is overtopping. 
East, West, South, North, 
It curses the earth ; 
All justice dies. 
And fraud and lies 
Live only in its shadow. 

■" What gives the wheat-field blades of steel ? 
What points the rebel cannon ? 
What sets the roaring rabble's heel 
On the old star-spangled pennon ? 
What breaks the oath 
Of the men o' the South ? 
What whets the knife 
For the Union's life ? — 
Hark to the answer : Slavery ! 

" Then waste no blows on lesser foes 
In strife unworthy freemen. 
God lifts to-day the veil, and shows 
The features of the demon ! 
O North and South, 
Its victims both. 
Can ye not cry, 
' Let slavery die ! ' 
And union find in freedom ? 

* Our God is a strong fortress. 



42 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [NoV, 

" What though the cast-out spirit tear 
The nation in his going ? 
We who have shared the guilt must share 
The pang of his o'erthrowing ! 
Whate'er the loss, 
"Whate'er the cross, 
Shall they complain 
Of present pain 
Who trust in God's hereafter ? 

" For who that leans on His right arm 
Was ever yet foi-saken ? 
What righteous cause can suffer harm 
If He its part has taken ? 
Though wild and loud 
And dark the cloud, 
Behind its folds 
His hand upholds 
The calm sky of to-morrow ! 

" Above the maddening cry for blood. 
Above the wild war-drumming, 
Let Freedom's voice be heai-d, with good 
The evil overcoming. 
Give prayer and purse 
To stay the Cui-se 
Whose wrong we share, 
Whose shame we bear, 
Whose end shall gladden Heaven ! 

" In vain the bells of \^ar shall ring 
Of triumphs and revenges, 
While still is spared the evil thing 
That severs and estranges. 
But blest the ear 
That yet shall hear 
The jubilant bell 
That rings the knell 
Of Slavery forever ! 

" Then let the selfish lip be dumb, 
And hushed the breath of sighing ; 
Before the joy of peace must come 
The pains of purifying. 

God give us grace 
, Each in his place 
To bear his lot, 
And, mui-niuring not. 
Endure and wait and labor 1 



I 



1861.] THE FALL OF 1861. 43 

The expulsion of the Hutchlnsons, with Whittier's ringing 
words, stirred people's thoughts. A change was gradually 
taking place in men's opinions. The negroes were beginning 
to show themselves useful. A detachment of the Thirteenth 
Massachusetts, commanded by Major Gould, was stationed on 
the upper Potomac. A negro slave, belonging in Winchester, 
came into the lines. He was intelligent, cautious, shrewd, 
and loyal. Major Gould did not return him to his master, but 
asked him if he would go back and ascertain the whereabouts 
of Stonewall Jackson. The negro readily assented. He was 
supplied with packages of medicine, needles, thread, and other 
light articles greatly needed in' the South. With these he 
easily passed the Rebel pickets : " Been out to get 'em for 
massa," was his answer when questioned by the Rebels. Thus 
he passed repeatedly into the Rebel lines, obtaining information 
which was transmitted to Washington. 

He had great influence with the slaves. 

" They are becoming restless," said he, " but I tells 'em that 
they must be quiet. I says to 'em, keep yer eyes wide open 
and pray for de good time comin'. I tells 'em if de Souf whip, 
it is all night wid yer ; but if de Norf whip, it is all day wid 
yer." 

" Do they believe it ?" Major Gould asked. 

" Yes, massa, all believe it. The black men am all wid yer, 
only some of 'em is n't berry well informed ; but dey is all wid 
yer. Massa tinks dey is n't wid yer, but dey is." 

How sublime the picture ! — a slave counselling his fellow- 
bondmen to keep quiet and wait till God should give them 
deliverance ! 

Among the many Rebel ministers who had done what they 
could to precipitate the rebellion was a Presbyterian minister 
in the vicinity of Charlestown, Virginia. It was his custom, 
after closing his sermon, to invite the young men to enlist 
in the regiments then forming. On one of these occasions 
he made an address in which he gave utterance to the fol- 
lowing sentiment : " If it is necessary to defend South- 
ern institutions and Southern rights, I will wade up to 
my shoulders in blood ! " This was brave ; but the time 
came when the chivalry of the parson was put to the test. 



4-1 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [NoV. 

When the Rebels were routed at Bolivar, ho, not being mounted 
on so fleet a horse as those of his flock who had given heed to 
his counsels and joined the cavalry, found himself left behind. 
A bullet lodged in the body of his horse prevented escape. He 
then tried his own legs, but soon found himself in the hands of 
the soldiers, who brought him to head-quarters. He at once 
claimed protection of Major Gould on the most extraordinary 
grounds. He had read the poems of Hannah Gould, and 
presumed that Major Gould, hailing from Massachusetts, must 
be her kinsman. When confronted with the Major he prompt- 
ly exclaimed, " Major, I have read the poems of Miss Hannah 
Gould, and admire them ; presuming that she is a relative 
of yours, I claim your protection and consideration." 

The Major replied that he had not the honor to be a relative 
of that gifted lady, but that he should accord him all the 
consideration due to those who had rebelled against the peace 
and dignity of the United States, and had been taken with 
arms in their hands. He was marched off with the others and 
placed under guard. 

Slavery was strongly intrenched in the capital of the nation. 
Congress had abolished it in the District of Columbia, but it 
still remained. 

Said a friend to me one morning, " Are you aware that the 
Washington jail is full of slaves ? " I could not believe that 
slaves were then confined there for no crime ; but at once pro- 
cured a pass from a senator to visit the jail, and was admitted 
through the iron gateway of one of the vilest prisons in the 
world. The air was stifled, fetid, and malarious. 

Ascending the stone stairway to the third story of the build- 
ing, entering a dark corridor and passing along a few steps, I 
came to a room twelve or fifteen feet square, occupied by about 
twenty colored men. They were at their dinner of boiled 
beef and corn-cake. There was one old man sitting on the 
stone floor, silent and sorrowful. He had committed no crime. 
Around, standing, sitting, or lying, were the others, of all 
shades of color, from jet black to the Caucasian hue, the Anglo- 
Saxon hair and contour of features. They were from ten to 
fifty years of age ; some were dressed decently, and others were 
in rags. One bright fellow of twenty had on a })air of trousers 



1861.] THE FALL OF 1861. 45 

only, and tried to keep himself warm by drawing around him 
a tattered blanket. A little fellow ten years old was all in rags. 
There was no chair or bed in the room. They must stand, or 
sit, or lie upon the brick and granite floor. There was no mat- 
tress or bedding ; each had his little bundle of rags, and that 
was all. They looked up inquiringly as I entered, as if to make 
out the object of my visit. 

One bright, intelligent boy belonged to Captain Dunnington, 
captain of the Capitol police during Buchanan's administration, 
and then commanding a Rebel battery. When Dunnington 
went from Washington to join the Rebels he left the boy be- 
hmd, and the police had arrested him under an old Maryland 
law, because he had no master, and kept him in jail five months. 

There was an old man from Fairfax Court-House. When 
the army advanced to Falls Church, his master sold his wife 
and child, for fear they might escape. " You see, sir, that 
broke me all up. 0, sir, it was hard to part with them, to see 
'em chained up and taken off away down South to Carolina. 
My mind is almost gone. I don't want to die here ; I sha'n't 
live long. When your army fell back to Washington after the 
battle of Bull Run, I came to Washington, and the police took 
me up because I was a runaway." 

There was another, a free negro, imprisoned on the supposi- 
tion that he was a fugitive, and kept because there was no 
one to pay his jail fees. Another had been a hand on a Massa- 
chusetts schooner plying on the Potomac, and had been arrest- 
ed in the streets on the suspicion that he was a slave. 

Another had been employed on the fortifications, and govern- 
ment was his debtor. There was a little boy, ten years old, 
clothed in rags, arrested as a runaway. Women were there, 
sent in by their owners for safe keeping. There were about 
sixty chargeable with no crime whatever, incarcerated with 
felons, without hope of deliverance. They were imprisoned be- 
cause negroes about town, without a master, always had been 
dealt with in that manner. The police, when the slaves had 
been reclaimed, had been sure of their pay, or if they were sold, 
their pay came from the auctioneer. When they saw me mak- 
ing notes, they imagined that I was doing something for their 
liberation, and with eagerness they crowded round, saying, 



46 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

" Please put down my name, sir," " I do want to get out, sir," 
and similar expressions. They followed me into the passage, 
gazed through the grated door, and when I said " Good by, 
boys," there came a chorus of "Good byes " and " God bless 
yous." 

Seeking Senator Wilson's room, I informed him of what I 
had witnessed, and read the memoranda taken in the jail. The 
eyes of that true-hearted man flashed with righteous indigna- 
tion. " We will see about this," said he, springing to his feet. 

He visited the jail, saw the loathsome spectacle, heard the 
stories of the poor creatures, and the next day introduced a 
resolution into the Senate, which upset forever this system of 
tyranny, which had been protected by the national authority. 

The year closed gloomily. There were more than six hun- 
dred thousand troops under arms ready to subdue the Rebel- 
lion, but General McClellan hesitated to move. But there 
were indications of an early advance in the West ; therefore 
on the last days of December I left Washington to be an ob- 
server of whatever might happen in Kentucky. 



1862.] AFFAIKS m THE WEST. 47 



CHAPTER IV. 

AFFAIRS IN THE WEST. 

The clmrcli-bells of Louisville were ringing the new year 
in as with the early morning we entered that city. There was 
little activity in the streets. The breaking out of the war had 
stopped business. The city, with a better location than Cin- 
cinnati, has had a slow growth. Cassius M. Clay gave the 
reason, years ago. 

" Why," he asked, " does Louisville write on an hundred 
of her stores ' To let,' while Cincinnati advertises ' Wanted ' ? 
There is but one answer, — Slavery." Many of the houses were 
tenantless. The people lounged in the streets. Few had any- 
thing to do. Thousands of former residents were away, many 
with the Southern army, more with the Union. There was divi- 
sion of feeling. Lines were sharply drawn. A dozen loyal Ken- 
tuckians had been killed in a skirmish on Green River ; among 
them Captain Bacon, a prominent citizen of Frankfort. His 
body was at the Gait House. Loyal Kentuckians were feeling 
these blows. Their temper was rising ; they were being edu- 
cated by such adversity to make a true estimate of Secession. 
Everything serves a purpose in this world. Our vision is too 
limited to understand much of the governmental providence of 
Him who notices the fall of a sparrow, and alike controls the 
destiny of nations ; but I could see in the emphatic utterances 
of men upon the street, that revenge might make men patriotic 
who otherwise might remain lukewarm in their loyalty. 

A friend introduced a loyal Tennesseean, who was forced to 
flee from Nashville when the State seceded. The vigilance 
committee informed him that he must leave or take the conse- 
quences ; which meant, a suspension by the neck from the 
nearest tree. He was offensive because of his outspoken loy- 
alty. He was severe in his denunciations of the government, 
on account of its slowness to put down the Rebellion. 



48 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Jau. 

" Sir," said he, " this government is not going to put down 
the Rebellion, because it is n't in earnest. You of the North 
are white-livered. Excuse me for saying it. No ; I won't ask 
to be excused for speaking the truth. You are afraid to touch 
the negro. You are afraid of Kentucky. The little province 
of the United States gets down on its knees to the nation of 
Kentucky. You are afraid that the State will go over to the 
Rebels, if anything is done about the negro. Now, sir, I know 
what slavery is ; I have lived among it all my days. I know 
what Secession is, — it means slavery. I know what Kentucky 
is^ — a proud old State, which has a great deal that is good 
about her and a great deal of sham. Kentucky politicians are 
no better or wiser than any other politicians. The State is liv- 
ing on the capital of Henry Clay. You think that the State is 
great because he was great. 0, you Northern men are a brave 
set ! (It was spoken with bitter sarcasm.) You handle this 
Rebellion as gingerly as if it were a glass doll. Go on, go on ; 
you will get whipped. Buell will get whipped at Bowling 
Green, Butler will get whipped at New Orleans. You got 
whipped at Big Bethel, Ball's Bluff, and Manassas. Why ? 
Because the Rebels are in earnest, and you are not. Every- 
thing is at stake with them. They employ niggers, you don't. 
They seize, rob, burn, destroy; they do everything to strengthen 
their cause and weaken you, while you pick your way as dain- 
tily as a dandy crossing a mud-puddle, afraid of offending some- 
body. No, sir, you are not going to put down this Rebellion 
till you hit it in the tenderest spot, — the negro. You must 
take away its main support before it will fall." 

General Buell was in command of the department, with his 
head-quarters at the Gait House. He had a large army at 
Mumfordville and other points. Pie issued his orders by tele- 
graph, but he had no plan of operations. There were no indi- 
cations of a movement. Tlie Rebel sympathizers kept General 
Johnston, in command at I>owling Green, Avell informed as to 
Buell's inaction. There was daily communication between 
Louisville and the Rebel camp. There was constant illicit 
trade in contraband goods. The policy of General McClellan 
was also the policy of General Buell, — to sit still. 

Events were more stirring in Missouri, and I proceeded to 



1862.] AFFAIRS IN THE WEST. 49 

. St. Louis, where General Halleck was in command, — a thick- 
set, dark-featured, black-haired man, sluggish, opinionated, and 
self-willed, arbitrary and cautious. 

Soon after his appointment to this department he issued, on 
the 20th of November, his Order No. 3, which roused the in- 
dignation of earnest loyal men throughout the country. Thus 
read the document : — 

" It has been represented that information respecting the numbers 
and condition of our forces is conveyed to the enemy by means of fugi- 
tive slaves who are admitted within our lines. In order to remedy this 
evil, it is directed that no such persons be hereafter permitted to enter 
the lines of any camp, or of any forces on the march, and .that any 
within our lines be immediately excluded therefrom." 

General Schofield was in command of Northern Missouri, 
under General Halleck. The guerillas had burned nearly all 
the railroad bridges, and it was necessary to bring them to jus- 
tice. The negroes along the line gave him the desired intel- 
ligence, and six of the leaders were in this way caught, tried 
by court-martial, and summarily shot. Yet General Halleck 
adhered to his infamous order. Diligent inquiries were made 
of officers in regard to the loyalty of the negroes, and no in- 
stance was found of their having given information to the 
enemy. In all of the slaveholding States a negro's testimony 
was of no account against a white man under civil law ; but 
General Schofield had, under military law, inaugurated a new 
order of things, — a drum-head court, a speedy sentence, a 
quick execution, on negro testimony. The Secessionists and 
Rebel sympathizers were indignant, and called loudly for his 
removal. 

The fine army which Fremont had commanded, and from 
which he had been summarily dismissed because of his anti- 
slavery order, was at Rolla, at the terminus of the southwest 
branch of the Pacific Railroad. This road, sixteen miles out 
from St. Louis, strikes the valley of the Maramec, — not the 
Merrimack, born of the White Hills, but a sluggish stream, 
tinged with blue and green, widening in graceful curves, with 
tall-trunked elms upon its banks, and acres of low lands, which 
are flooded in freshets. It is a pretty river, but not to be com- 
pared in beauty to the stream which the muse of Whittier has. 
4 



50 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Jan. 

made classic. Nearly all the residences in this section are 
Missourian in architectural proportions and features, — logs 
and clay, with the mammoth outside chimneys, cow-yard and 
piggery, an oven out of doors on stilts, an old wagon, half a 
dozen horses, hens, dogs, pigs, in front, and lean, cadaverous 
men and women peeping from the doorways, with arms akimbo, 
and pipes between the teeth. This is the prevailing feature, 
— this in a beautiful, fertile country, needing but the hand 
of industry, the energy of a free people, vitalized by the high- 
est civilization, to make it one of the loveliest portions of the 
world. 

At Franklin the southwestern branch of the Pacific Railroad 
diverges from the main stem. It is a new place, brought into 
existence by the railroad, and consists of a lime-kiln, a steam 
saw-mill, and a dozen houses. Behind the town is a picturesque 
bluff, with tlie lime-kiln at its base, which might be taken for 
a ruined temple of some old Aztec city. Near at hand two 
Iowa regiments were encamped. A squad of soldiers was on 
the plain, and a crowd stood upon the depot platform, anx- 
iously inquiring for the morning papers. It was a supply sta- 
tion, provisions being sent up both lines. Two heavy freight 
trains, destined for Rolla, were upon the southwestern brancli. 
To one of them passenger cars were attached, to which we were 
transferred. 

When the branch was opened for travel in 1859, the direc- 
tors run one train a day, — a mixed train of passenger and 
freight cars, — and during the first week their patronage in 
freight was immense, — it consisted of a bear and a pot of 
honey ! On the passage the bear ate the honey, and the owner 
of the honey brought a bill against the company for damages. 

Beyond Franklin the road crosses the Maramec, enters a 
forest, winds among the hills, and finally by easy grades reaches 
a crest of land, from which, looking to the right or the left, you 
can see miles away over an unbroken forest of oak. Far to the 
east is the elevated ridge of land which ends in the Pilot Knob, 
toward the Mississippi, and becomes tlie Ozark Mountain range 
toward the Arkansas line. We looked over the broad panorama 
ito see villages, church-spires, white cottages, or the blue curl- 
ing smoke indicative of a town or human residence, but the 



1862.] AFFAIRS IN THE WEST. 51 

expanse was primitive and unbroken. Not a sign of life could 
be discovered for many miles as we slowly crept along the line. 
The country is undulating, with the limestone strata cropping 
out on the hillsides. In the railroad cuttings the rock, which 
at the surface is gray, takes a yellow and reddish tinge, from 
the admixture of ochre in the soil. In one cutting we 
recognized the lead-bearing rocks, which abound through the 
southwestern section of the State. 

We looked in vain to discover a school-house. A gentleman 
who was well acquainted with this portion of the State, said 
that he knew of only two school-houses, — one in Warsaw and 
the other in Springfield. In a ride of one hundred and thirteen 
miles we saw but two churches. As Aunt Ophelia found 
"Topsy" virgin soil, so will those who undertake to recon- 
struct the South find these wilds of Southwestern Missouri. 
And they are a fair specimen of the South. 

It was evening when we reached Rolla. When we stepped 
from the car in the darkness, there was a feeling that the place 
was a mortar-bed and the inhabitants were preparing to make 
bricks. Our boots became heavy, and, like a man who takes 
responsibility, when we once planted our feet the tendency was 
for them to stay there. Guided by an acquaintance who knew 
the way, the hotel was reached. In the distance the weird 
camp-fires illumined the low-hanging clouds. From right and 
left there came the roll of drums and the bugle-call. A group 
of men sat around the stove in the bar. The landlord escorted 
us to the wash-room, — a spacious, high-arched apartment, as 
wide as the east is from the west, as long as the north is 
from the south, as high-posted as the zenith, where we found 
a pail of water, a tin basin, and a towel, for all hands ; and 
which all hands had used. After ablution came supper in 
the dining-hall, with bare beams overhead. Dinah waited 
Tipon us, — coal-black, tall, stately, worth a thousand dollars 
before the war broke out, but somewhat less just then, and 
Phillis, with a mob-cap on her head, bleached a little in com- 
plexion by Anglo-Saxon or Missourian blood. 

We soon discovered that nothing was to be done by the army 
in this direction. The same story was current here as on the 
Potomac and in Kentucky, — " Not ready." General Sigel had 



52 FOUR YEARS OF nCHTING. [Jan. 

sent in his resignation, disgusted with General Hallcek. Gen- 
eral Curtis had just arrived to take command. The troops 
were sore over the removal of Fremont : they idolized him. 
Among the forty thousand men in the vicinity were those who 
had fought at Wilson's Creek. The lines between Rebellion 
and Loyalty were more sharply drawn here than in any other 
section of the country. Men acted openly. The array was radi- 
cal in its sentiments, believing in Fremont's order for theJiber- 
ation of the slaves, which the President had set aside. 

There was one other point which gave better promise of ac- 
tive operations, — Cairo. Therefore bidding adieu to Rolla, 
we returned to St. Louis and took the cars for Cairo. 

It was an all-night ride, with a mixed company of soldiers 
and civilians. There were many ladies on their way to visit 
their husbands and brothers before the opening of the cam- 
paign. One woman had three children. " Their father wants 
to see them once more before he goes into battle," said the 
mother, sadly. 

At last we found a place where men seemed to be in earnest. 
Cairo was alive. At the levee were numerous steamboats. 
Soldiers were arriving. There was a constant hammering and 
pounding on the gunboats, which were moored along the shore. 

The mud cannot be put into the picture. There was thick 
mud, thin mud, sticky mud, slushy mud, slimy mud, deceptive 
mud, impassaljle mud, which appeared to the sight, to say noth- 
ing of the peculiarities that are understood by the nose ; for 
within forty feet of our window were a horse-stable and pig- 
yard, where slops from the houses and washes from the sinks 
were trodden with the manure from the stables. Bunyan's 
Slough of Despond, into which all the filth and slime of this 
world settled, was nothing beside the slough of Cairo. There 
were sheds, shanties, stables, pig-stys, wood-piles, carts, barrels, 
boxes, — the debris of everything thrown over the area. Of 
animate things, water-carts, — two-horse teams, which were 
supplying the inhabitants witli drinking water from the river. 
There were truckmen stuck in the mud. There were two 
pigs in irrepressible conflict ; also two dogs. Twenty feet 
distant, soldiers in their blue coats, officers with swords, 
sash and belt, ladies, and citizens, were picking their way 



1862,] AFFAIRS IN THE WEST. 53 

along the sticky sidewalks. This was Cairo. Delectable 
Cairo ! 

The prominent names before the country at that period, as 
commanders who were to lead our armies to victory, were 
McClellan, Buell, T. W. Sherman, then at Port Royal, Fre- 
mont, Rosecrans, Burnside, Butler, and Banks. William Te- 
cumseh Sherman was reputed to be flighty in the head. He 
had commanded the Department of the Ohio, but Buell had suc- 
ceeded him. He was now a brigade commander at Paducah, 
under General C. F. Smith.. There were several brigadiers 
at Cairo. General McClernand, who had been a member 
of Congress, a strong partisan of Senator Douglas, was most 
conspicuous. General Prentiss, who was ready to make a 
speech on any and every occasion, was also well known. The 
commander of the post was an obscure man. His name was 
Grant. At the beginning of the war he was in the leather 
business at Galena. He had been educated at West Point, 
where he stood well as a mathematician, but had left the ser- 
vice, and had become a hard-working citizen. He was Colonel 
of the Twenty-first Illinois, and had been made a brigadier by 
the President.^ He was in charge of the expedition to Belmont, 
which, though successful in the beginning, had ended almost 
in disaster. Having credentials from the Secretary of War, I 
entered the head-quarters of the commanding officer, and 
found a man of medium stature, thick set, with blue eyes, and 
brown beard closely cropped, sitting at a desk. He was smok- 
ing a meerschaum. He wore a plain blue blouse, without any 
insignia of rank. His appearance was clerkly. General Mc- 
Clellan, in Washington, commanded in state, surrounded by 
brilliant staffs, men in fine broadcloth, gold braid, plumed 
hats, and wearing clanking sabres. Orderlies and couriers 
were usually numerous at head-quarters. 

"Is General Grant in?" was the question directed to the 
clerk in the corner. 

" Yes, sir," said the man, removing his meerschaum from his 
mouth, and spitting with unerring accuracy into a spittoon by 
his side. 

" Will you be kind enough to give this letter to him." 

But the clerk* instead of carrying it into an adjoining room. 



54 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Jan. 

to present it to the commander-in-chief, opened it, ran his eye 
rapidly over the contents, and said, " I am happy to make your 
acquaintance, sir. Colonel Webster will give you a pass." 

Such was my first interview with General Grant. I have 
seen him many times since, — in the hour of victory, at Don 
elson ; in the shadow of the cloud, after Pittsburg Landing ; 
during the fearful days of the Wilderness ; in the last great 
hours of triumph, with Lee and his army paroled prisoners of 
war ; and there has ever been the same quiet, gentlemanly 
deportment. 

The large hall of the St. Charles Hotel was the general re- 
sort of officers, soldiers, guests, and citizens. I was conversing 
with a friend the same afternoon when a short, muscular, quick- 
walking man, in the prime of life, wearing a navy uniform, 
entered. His countenance would attract attention even in a 
crowd, it was so mild, peaceful, and pleasant. My friend in- 
troduced him as Commander Foote. 

" I shall be pleased to see you at my office, which is on the 
wharf-boat. I usually take a little recreation after dinner," 
said he. 

Calling upon him the next day, I found him at leisure, hav- 
ing despatched the business of the forenoon. There was a Bible 
on his table and a hymn-book, and in one corner of the office a 
large package of books, just received from the Sunday-School 
Union, directed to " Captain A. H. Foote, U. S. N." 

Noticing my eyes turned in that direction, he said : " They 
are for the sailors ; I want to do what I can for the poor fel- 
lows. They have n't any chaplain ; I read the service on Sun- 
day and visit the crews, and talk to them ; but it is very little 
religious instruction which they receive. I don't allow any 
work, except what is absolutely necessary, on Sunday. I be- 
lieve man and beast need rest one day in seven. I am trying 
to persuade the men to leave off their grog rations, with a fair 
chance of success." 

He was at leisure, and talked freely of matters relating to the 
organization of the fleet. He had to contend with great diffi- 
culties. The department had rendered him but little service. 
He had done his best to obtain mortars ; had despatched officers 
to Pittsburg, where they were cast, but they were all sent East 



1862.] AFFAIRS IN THE WEST. 55 

for the New Orleans fleet. He regretted it exceedingly, 
for with good ordnance he thought it would not be a difficult 
matter to reach New Orleans, though, as he modestly remarked, 
quoting the Scriptural proverb, " It becomes not him who put- 
teth on the harness to boast." He was lacking men. Recruit- 
ing officers had been sent to Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and 
other lake ports, but they had signally failed, because the 
department did not pay any advance to those in the river 
service, while on the seaboard advances were made. He had 
not men enough to man his gunboats. 

The department had furnished him with but few new guns. 
He had been obliged to take those which were at Sackett's Har- 
bor, — old guns far inferior to tliose with which Commodore Du 
Pont knocked Tybee and Hilton Head to pieces. He had to get 
gun-carriages manufactured in Cincinnati, other things at St. 
Louis, others at Pittsburg ; but notwithstanding this, had organ- 
ized a fleet wliich would throw a tremendous weight of metal. 
He was not ready to move, yet would move, whether ready or 
not, whenever the word was given. He believed in fighting at 
close quarters. 

He spoke freely of the faults of the gunboats. They were 
too low in the water and the engines of too limited capacity. 
They would not be able to make much headway against the 
stream. He considered them an experiment, and, like all ex- 
periments, they were of course defective. 

He was a close student, devoted to his profession, and bore 
the marks of severe thought in the wrinkles which were deep- 
ening on his brow. Time had begun to silver his hair and 
whiskers, but he walked with a firm step. He had rare con- 
versational powers, and imparted information as if it were a 
pleasure. He was thoroughly conscientious, and had a deep 
sense of his responsibility. He was aware that his own reputa- 
tion and standing as well as the interests of the public were at 
stake. He was greatly beloved by his men. 

Two of the gunboats — the Essex and Louisville — were ly- 
ing six or eight miles below Cairo, guarding the river. The 
Essex ! How often in boyhood had I thrilled at the story of 
her brave fight with the Cherub and Phebe in the harbor of 
Valparaiso ! How often I wished that Captain Porter could 



56 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Jan. 

have had a fair chance in that terrible fight, — one of the 
fiercest ones fought on the sea. But there was another Essex 
commanded by another Captain Porter, son of him who refused 
to surrender his ship till he had lost all power to defend her. 

The new craft was wholly unlike the old. That was a fast 
sailer, trim, and taut, and graceful as a swan- upon the waters ; 
this a black box, once a St. Louis ferry-boat. The sailors who 
had breathed the salt air of the sea, who had swung in mid- 
heaven upon the swaying masts, who had rode in glee upon the 

storm-tost billows, 

" Whose home was on the deep," 

regarded the new Essex in disgust, and rechristened her the 
Mud Turtle. But her name, and the glorious record of her 
deeds, will not fade from remembrance. Coming generations ' 
shall read of her exploits with pride and pleasure. We were 
courteously received by her commander. Captain William Por- 
ter, a solid man, but little more than five feet high, yet broad- 
chested, quick and energetic in his movements. He had a long, 
thick, black beard, and twinkling eyes full of fire. He had the 
rolling gait of a sailor, and was constantly pacing the deck. 
He was a rapid talker, and had a great store of adventure and 
anecdote. We alluded to the part taken by his father in the 
war of 1812, and the gallant fight against great odds in Valpa- 
raiso harbor. The eyes of the son kindled instantly. 

" Yes, sir ; that was a plucky fight. The old gentleman 
never would have given in if there had been the least ray of 
hope ; but there was none. And he was too tender-hearted 
to needlessly slaughter his men." 

Three days previous to our visit to the Essex, two Rebel boats 
came up from Columbus to see what the Yankees were doing. 
In five minutes Porter had his anchor up and steam on, pushing 
down to meet them half-way ; but they declined the courtesy, 
and steamed back to Columbus. 

" I followed them as fast as I could," said ho, as we paced 
the deck. " I let them have my ten-inch Dahlgren and my 
two rifled forty-two pounders as fast as I could, and drove 
them till their batteries on the bluff above the town opened on 
me. Then I wrote an invitation " to Montgomery, who com- 
mands their fleet, to meet me any day and I would lick him 



1862.] AFFAIRS IN THE WEST. 57 

like thunder. I fastened it to a cork and set it adrift, and saw 
a boat go out and pick it up. Then I elevated my ten-inch and 
let them have a shell right into the town. I reckon it waked 
them up some." 

He laughed and chuckled, rubbed his hands, took a fresh 
quid of tobacco, and began to talk again of his father's exploits 
on the Pacific. 

The Rebels under Major-General Bishop Polk were in force 
at Columbus. There was also a detachment at Mayfield, east 
of Columbus. A sudden movement was made by General 
Grant in the direction of Mayfield, not with any design of 
an attack, but to deceive the Rebels in regard to the real 
intentions. The troops landed at old Fort Jefferson, six miles 
below Cairo, on the Kentucky side. It was a mild day in mid- 
winter. The soldiers marched without baggage. Not one in 
ten had gloves or mittens ; and on the second night of the 
reconnoissance the cold became intense, and there was great 
suffering. 

The soldiers kindled huge fires, and by running and walking, 
and constant thrashing of the hands, passed the long, weary 
night.. There were numerous herds of swine in the woods, 
and fresh pork was abundant. There was roasting, frying, 
and broiling by every bivouac fire, and a savory fragrance of 
sparerib and steak. 

The dwellings of the farmers in this section of Kentucky are 
of the Southern style of architecture, — log-houses containing 
two rooms, with chimneys built against the ends. Entering 
one to obtain a drink of water we found two tall, cadaverous 
young men, both of them shaking with ague. There was a 
large old-fashioned fireplace, with a great roaring fire, before 
which they were sitting with the door wide open at their backs, 
and the cold air rushing upon them in torrents. Probably it 
did not occur to either of them that it would be better to shut 
the door. 

A Connecticut wooden clock ticked on a rude shelf, a bed 
stood in one corner. The walls were hung with old clothes 
and dried herbs, — catnip and tansy and thorougliwort. The 
clay had dropped out in many places, and we could look 
through the chinks and see the landscape without. The 



58 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Jan. 

foundations of the chimney had settled, and the structure was 
leaning away from the house. There were great cracks be- 
tween the brickwork and the wood. 

They claimed to be good Union men, but said that all the 
rest of the people round them were disloyal. 

" We are having a hard time," said one. " The Secession- 
ists were going to jump us, — to take our property because we 
were for the Union, and now your army has come and killed 
nigh al)0ut seventy-five hogs for us, I reckon. It is kinder 
hard, stranger, to be used so." 

" But, my friend, if it had not been for the Union troops 
would n't you have lost everything, if you are a Union man ? " 

" Yes, — perhaps so," was the long-drawn answer, given with 
hesitation. 

" There is a right smart heap of Southerners at Columbus, I 
reckon," said he. " There is Sam "Wickliff and Josh Turner, 
and almost all the boys from this ye're place, and they '11 fight, 
I reckon, stranger." 

"We then learned that the officers of McClernand's division, 
having been deprived of the enjoyments of home-life, and 
finding themselves among the belles of Western Kcntuck}'', 
had made the most of the opportunity by dancing all night. 

" The gals danced themselves clean out, that is the reason 
they ain't about," said one of the young men, apologizing for 
the absence of his sisters, and added, " They is rather afraid 
of the Lincolnites." The utterance of the last sentence con- 
tradicted all previous assertions of loyalty and hearty love for 
the Union. 

The troops made sad havoc among the stock, shooting pigs 
and sheep for fun. After scouring the country well towards 
Columbus, having accomplished the object of the expedition, — 
that of deceiving the Rebels in regard to the movement con- 
templated up the Tennessee, — the force returned to Cairo. 



1862.] CENTRAL KENTUCKr. 69 



CHAPTER Y. 

CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 

The tide of success during the year 1861 was almost wholly 
in favor of the Rebels ; but at length there came a change, in 
the defeat of ZoUicoffer by General Thomas at Mill Springs, on 
the 19th of January. I hastened to the centre of the State to 
watch operations which had suddenly become active in that 
quarter. 

It was on the last day of January that the zealous porter 
of the Spencer House, in Cincinnati, awoke us with a thun- 
dering rap at five o'clock, shouting, " Cars for Lexington." 
It was still dark when the omnibus whirled away from the 
house. There were six or eight passengers, all strangers, but 
conversation was at once started by a tall, stout, red-faced, 
broad-shouldered man, wearing a gray overcoat and a broad- 
brimmed, slouched hat, speaking the Kentucky vernacular. 

It is very easy to become acquainted with a genuine Ken- 
tuckian. He launches at once into conversation. He loves 
to talk, and takes it for granted that you like to listen. The 
gentleman who now took the lead sat in the corner of the 
omnibus, talking not only to his next neighbor, but to every- 
body present. The words poured from his lips like water 
from a wide-mouthed gutter during a June shower. In five 
minutes we had his history, — born in " Old Kentuck," knew 
all the folks in Old Bourbon, had been a mule-driver, supplied 
Old Virginia with more mules than she could shake a stick at, 
had got tired of " Old Kentuck," moved up into Indiana, was 
going down to see the folks, — all of this before we had reached 
the ferry ; and before arriving at the Covington shore we had 
his opinion of the war, of political economy, the Constitution, 
and the negroes. 

It was remarkable that, let any subject be introduced, even 



60 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

thougli it might be most remotely related to the war, the talkers 
would quickly reach the negro question. Just as in theological 
discussions the tendency is toward original sin, so upon the 
War, — the discussion invariably went beyond the marshalling 
of armies to the negro as the cause of the war. 

The gentleman in gray had not learned the sounds of the 
letters as given by the lexicographers of the English language, 
but adhered to the Kentucky dialect, giving " liar " for hair, 
" thar " for there, with peculiar terminations. 

" Yer see, I us-ed to live in Old Kaintuck, down thar beyond 
Paris. Wal, I jnoxed up beyond Iiidiawo/:>olis, bought a mighty 
nice farm. I know'd all the folks down round Paris. Thar 's 
old Speers, who got shot down to Mill Springs, — he was a 
game un ; a white-haired old cuss who jined the Confederates. 
I know'd him. I 'tended his nigger sale sev'ral years ago, 
when he busted. He war a good old man, blame me if he 
want. He war crazy that ar day of the sale, and war down 
on the nigger-traders. He lost thousands of dollars that ar 
day, cause he hated 'em and run down his niggers, — said they 
wau't good when they war, just ter keep 'em out of the hands 
of the cussed traders. 

" Wal, thar 's Jim, — I remember him. He 's in Confed'- 
rate army, too. I lost a bet of tew hundred dollars with him 
on Letcher's 'lection, — that old drunken cuss who 's disgra- 
cing Old Virginia ; blow me if I did n't. That was hard on me, 
cause on 'lection day arter I 'd voted, I started with a drove of 
mut'/s, four hundred on 'em nigh about, for Virginia. I felt 
mighty sick, I tell you, 'cause I had employed a drunken cuss 
to buy 'em for me, and he paid more than they war wuth. 
Wal, I know'd I would lose, and I did, — ten hundred dollars. 
Cusses, yer know, allcrs comes in flocks. Wal, only ges think 
of it, that ar drunken cuss is a kurnel in the Federal army. 
Blow me ef I think it 's right. Men that drink too much ar' n't 
fit to have control of soldiers. 

" Wal, I am a Kentuckian. I 've got lots of good friends in 
the Southern army, and lots in the Union army. My idee is 
tliat government ought to confiscate the property of the Rebels, 
and when the war is over give it back to their wives and chil- 
dren. It 's mighty hard to take away everything from 'cm, — 



1862.] CENTEAL KENTUCKY. 61 

blow me if it a'n't. The Abolitionists want to confiscate the 
niggers. Wal, I know all about the niggers. They are a lazy, 
stealing set of cusses, the hull lot of 'em. What can we do 
with 'em ? That 's what I want to know. Now my wife, she 
wants niggers, but I don't. If Kentucky wants 'em, let her 
have 'em. It 's my opinion that Kentucky is better off with 
'em, 'cause she has got used to 'em. 

" The people are talking about starving the Confederates, 
but I 've been through the South, and it can't be done. They 
can raise everything that we can, and it 's my candid opinion 
that government is gwine to get licked." 

The arrival of the omnibus at the depot put an end to the 
talk. 

The Licking Yalley, through which the railroad to Lexing- 
ton runs, is very beautiful. There are broad intervales fringed 
witli hickory and elm, wood-crowned hills, warm, sunny 
vales and charming landscapes. Nature has done much to 
make it a paradise ; art very little. The farm-houses are in 
the Kentucky style. — piazzas, great cliimneys outside, negro 
cabins, — presenting at one view and m close contrast the ex- 
tremes of wealth and poverty, power and weakness, civilization 
and barbarism, freedom and slavery. 

The city of Lexington is a place of the past. Before rail- 
roads were projected, when Henry Clay was in the prime of 
manhood there, it was a place of enterprise and activity. The 
streets were alive with men. It was the great political and 
social centre of Central Kentucky. The city flourished in 
those days, but its glory has passed away. The great com- 
moner on whose lips thousands hung in breathless admira- 
tion, the circumstances of his time, the men of his generation, 
have departed never to return. JLife has swept on to other 
centres. In the suburbs were beautiful residences. Riches 
were displayed in lavish expenditure, but the town itself 
was wearing a seedy look. There was old rubbish every- 
where about the city ; there were buildings with crazy blinds, 
cracked walls, and leaning earthward ; while even a beautiful 
church edifice had broken panes in its windows. The troubles 
of the year, like care and anxiety to a strong man, plough- 
ing deep furrows on his face, had closed many stores, and 



62 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

written " To Rent " on many dwellings. A sudden paralysis 
had fallen, business had drooped, and society had lost its 
life. 

The Phenix was the ancient aristocratic hotel of the place. 
It Avas in appearance all of the old time, — a three-story, stone, 
brick, and plaster building, with small windows, and a great 
bar-room or ofBce, wliich in former days was the resort of 
politicians, men of the turf, and attendants at court. A crowd 
of unwashed men were in the hall, spattered with mud, wear- 
ing slouched hats, unshaven and unshorn, — a motley crew ; 
some tilted against the walls in chairs, fast asleep, some talking 
in low tones and filling the room with fumes of tobacco. A 
half-dozen were greasing their boots. The proprietor apolo- 
gized for their presence, remarking that they were teamsters 
who had just arrived from Somerset, and were soon to go back 
with supplies for General Thomas's army. There were three 
hundred of them, rough, uncouth, dirty, but well behaved. 
There was no loud talking, no profanity, indecency, or rude- 
ness, but a deportment through the day and night worthy of 
all commendation. 

While enjoying the fire in the reception-room two ladies 
entered, — one middle-aged, medium stature, having an oval 
face, dark hair, dark hazel eyes ; the other a young lady of nine- 
teen or twenty years, sharp features, black hair, and flashing 
black eyes. They were boarders at the hotel, were well dressed, 
though not with remarkable taste, but evidently were accus- 
tomed to move in the best circle of Lexington society. A 
regiment was passing the hotel. 

" There are some more Yankees going down to Mill Springs, 
I reckon," said the elder. 

" 0, is n't it too bad that Zollicoffer is killed ? I could have 
cried my eyes out when I heard of it," said the youngest. " 
he was so brave, and noble, and chivalrous ! " 

" He was a nol^le man," the other replied. 

" 0, 1 should so like to see a battle ! " said the youngest. 

" It might not be a pleasant sight, although we are often 
wilUng to forego pleasure for the sake of gratifying curiosity," 
we replied. 

" I should want my side to whip," said the girl. 



1862.] CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 63 

" Yes. We all expect our side to be victorious, though we 
are sometimes disappointed, as was the case at Bull Run." 

" Then you were at Bull Run ? I take it that you belong to 
the army ? " 

" I was there and saw the fight, although I was not connected 
with the army." 

" I am glad you were defeated. It was a good lesson to you. 
The Northerners have had some respect for the Southerners 
since then. The Southerners fought against great odds." 

" Indeed, I think it was the reverse." 

" No indeed, sir. The Federals numbered over sixty thou- 
sand, while Beauregard had less than thirty thousand. He did 
not have more than twelve thousand in the fight." 

" I can assure you it is a grave mistake. General McDowell 
had less than thirty thousand men, and not more than half 
were engaged." 

" Well, I wonder what he was thinking of when he carried 
out those forty thousand handcuffs ? " 

" I did not suppose any one gave credence to that absurd 
story." 

" Absurd ? Indeed, sir, it is not. I have seen some of the 
handcuffs. There are several pairs of them in this city. They 
were brought directly from the field by some of our citizens 
who went on as soon as they heard of the fight. I have sev- 
eral trophies of the fight which our men picked up." 

No doubt the young lady was sincere. It was universally 
believed throughout the South that McDowell had thousands 
of pairs of handcuffs in his train, which were to be clapped 
upon the wrists of the Southern soldiers. 

" We have some terrible uncompromising Union men in this 
State," said the eldest, " who would rather see every negro 
swept into the Gulf of Mexico, and the whole country sunk, 
than give up the Union. We have more Abolitionists here in 
this city than they have in Boston." 

It was spoken bitterly. She did not mean that the Union 
men of the State were committed to immediate emancipation, 
but that they would accept emancipation rather than have the 
Secessionists succeed. 

A gentleman came in, sat down by the fire, warmed his 



G4 rOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

hands, and joined in the conversation. Said he : " I am a 
Southerner. I have lived all my life among slaves. I own one 
slave, but I hate the system. There are counties in this State 
where there are but few slaves, and in all such counties you 
will find a great many Abolitionists. It is the brutalizing 
influence of slavery that makes me hate it, — brutalizing to 
whites and blacks alike. I hate this keeping niggers to raise 
human stock, — to sell, just as you do horses and sheep." 

In all places the theme of conversation was the war and the 
negroes. The ultra pro-slavery element was thoroughly seces- 
sion, and the Unionists were beginning to understand that 
slavery was at the bottom of the rebellion. As in the dim 
light of the morning we already behold the approach of the 
full day, so they saw that these which seemed the events of 
an hour might broaden into that which would overthrow the 
entire slave system. 

Anthony Trollope, an English traveller and novelist, was 
stopping at the hotel at the time, — a pleasant gentleman, 
thoroughly English in his personal appearance, with a plump 
face, indicative of good living and good cheer. In his work 
entitled " North America " he mentions the teamsters in the 
hall, and draws a contrast between English and American 
society. He says : — 

" While I was at supper the seventy-five teamsters were summoned 
into the common eatiiig-room by a loud gong, and sat down to their 
meal at the public table. They were very dirty ; I doubt whether I 
ever saw dirtier men; but they were orderly and well-behaved, and 
but for their extreme dirt might have passed as the ordinary occupants 
of a well-filled hotel in the West. Such men in the States are less 
clumsy with their knives and forks, less astray in an unused position, 
more intelligent in adapting themselves to a new life, than are English- 
men of the same rank. It is always the same story. With us there 
is no level of society. IMen stand on a long staircase, but the crowd 
congregates near the bottom, and the lower steps are very broad. In 
America, men stand on a common platform, but the platform is raised 
above the ground, though it does not approach in height the top of our 
staircase. If we take the average altitude in the two countries, we 
shall find that the American heads are the more elevated of the two. 
I conceived rather an affection for those dirty teamsters ; they answered 



1862.] CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 65 

me civilly when I spoke to them, and sat in quietness smoking their 
pipes, with a dull and dirty but orderly demeanor." * 

If Mr. Trollope, who has a very just appreciation of the 
character of those quiet and orderly teamsters, will but wait 
a century or two, perhaps he will find that democracy can 
build a staircase as high and complete as that reared by the 
aristocracy of England. We have had but two centuries for 
the construction of our elevated common platform, while Eng- 
land has had a thousand years. There the base of the 
staircase, where the multitude stands, is either stationary or 
sinking ; but here the platform is always rising, and bearing 
the multitude to a higher plane. 

A short distance north of the city of the living is the city of 
the dead. It is a pleasant suburb, — one which is'adding week 
by week to its population. It is laid out in beautiful avenues, 
grass bordered, and shaded by grand old forest-trees. It is the 
resting-place of the dust of Henry Clay. The monument to 
his memory is not yet finished. It is a tall, round column upon 
a broad base, with a capital, such as the Greeks never saw or 
dreamed of, surmounted by a fi.gure intended to represent the 
great statesman as he stood when enchaining vast audiences by 
his matchless oratory. Within the chamber, exposed to view 
through the iron-latticed door, star-ornamented and bronzed, 
lies the sarcophagus of purest marble. It is chaste in design, 
ornamented with gathered rods and bonds emblematic of 
union, and wreathed with cypress around its sides. The 
pure white marble drapery is thrown partly back, exposing 
above the breast of the sleeper a wreath, and 

HENRY CLAY. 

Upon the slab beneath the sarcophagus is this simple inscrip- 
tion : — 

" I can, with unbroken confidence, appeal to the Divine Ar- 
biter for the truth of the declaration, that I have been influ- 
enced by no impure purpose, no personal motive, — have sought 
no personal aggrandizement, but that in all my public acts 
I have had a sole and single eye, and a warm devoted heart, 



•* " North America," by Anthony Trollope, Vol. II. p3| 



6Q FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

directed and dedicated to what in my best judgment I believed 
to be the true interests of my country." 

It is not a declaration which goes home to the heart as that 
simple recognition of the Christian religion which his compeer, 
Daniel Webster, directed should be placed above liis grave in 
the secluded churchyard at Marshfield, but Mr. Clay was a 
remarkable man. Of all Americans who have lived, he could 
hold completest sway of popular assemblies. Hating slavery in 
his early life, he at last became tolerant of its existence. He 
cast tlie whole trouble of the nation upon the Abolitionists. In 
some things he was far-sighted ; in others, obtuse. In 1843 he 
addressed a letter to a friend who was about to write a pam- 
phlet against the Abolitionists, giving him an outline of the 
argument to be used. Thus he wrote : — 

•* The great aim and object of your tract should be to arouse the 
laboring classes in the Free States against abolition. Depict the con- 
sequences to them of immediate abolition. The slaves being free, 
would be dispersed throughout the Union ; they would enter into com- 
petition with the free laborer, with the American, the Irish, the Ger- 
man ; reduce his wages ; be confounded with him, and affect his moral 
and social standing. And as the ultras go for both abolition and amal- 
gamation, show that their object is to unite in marriage the laboring 
white man and the laboring black man, and to reduce the white labor- 
ing man to the despised and degraded condition of the black man. 

" I would show their opposition to colonization. Show its humane, 
religious, and patriotic aims, that they are to separate those whom God 
has separated. Why do the Abolitionists oppose colonization ? To 
keep and amalgamate together the two races in violation of God's will, 
and to keep the blacks here, that they may interfere with, degrade, and 
debase the laboring whites. Show that the British nation is co-operat- 
ing with the Abolitionists, for the purpose of dissolving the Union." * . 

This was written by a reputed statesman, who was supposed 
to understand the principles of political economy. The slaves 
being made free would enter in competition with the free lor 
horcr. But has not the free American laborer been forced to 
compete through all the years of the past with unrequited 
slave labor ? Without inquiring into the aims and purposes 
of the Abolitionists, — what they intended to do, and how they 

* North American Review, January, 1866, p. 189. 



1862.] CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 67 

were to do it, — Mr. Clay accepted the current talk of the day, 
and shaped his course accordingly. That letter will read 
strangely fifty years hence. It reads strangely now, and goes 
far to lower our estimate of the real greatness of one who for 
half a century was the idol of a great political party, — whose 
words were taken as the words of an oracle. But ideas 
and principles have advanced since 1843. We stand upon a 
higher plane, and are moving on to one still higher. 

Returning to the hotel, I fell into conversation with a Pres- 
byterian minister, who began to deplore the war. 

" We should conduct it," said he, " not as savages or barba- 
rians, but as Christians, as civilized beings, on human princi- 
ples." 

" In what way would you have our generals act to carry out 
what you conceive to be such principles ? " 

" Well, sir, the blockade is terribly severe on our friends in 
the South, who are our brothers. The innocent are suffering 
with the guilty. We should let them have food, and raiment, 
and medicines, but we should not let them have cannon, guns, 
and powder." 

" When do you think the war would end if such a plan was 
adopted ? " 

He took a new tack, not replying to the question, but said, — 

" The North began the trouble in an unchristian spirit." 

" Was not the first gun fired by the Rebels upon Fort 
Sumter ? " 

" That was not the beginning of the war. It was the elec- 
tion of Lincoln." 

" Then you would not have a majority of the people elect 
their officers in the constituted way ? " 

" Well, if Lincoln had been a wise man he would have re- 
signed, and saved this terrible conflict." 

There is a point beyond which forbearance ceases to be a 
virtue, and we expressed the hope that the war would be waged 
with shot and shell, fire and sword, naval expeditions and block- 
ades, and every possible means, upon the men who had con- 
spired to subvert the government. There was no reply, and 
he soon left the room. 

Buell's right wing under General Crittenden, was at Cal- 



68 FOUR YEARS OF nOHTING. [Feb. 

lioiin, on Green River. Intelligence arrived that it "was to be 
put in motion. 

Leaving Lexington in the morning, and passing by cars 
through Frankfort, — an old town, the capital of the State, like 
Lexington, seedy and dilapidated, — we reached Louisville in 
season to take our choice of the two steamers, Gray Eagle and 
Eugene, to Henderson. They were both excellent boats, run- 
ning in opposition, carrying passengers one hundred and eighty 
miles, providing for them two excellent meals and a night's 
lodging, all for fifty cents ! People were patronizing both 
boats, because it was much cheaper than staying at home. 

Taking the Gray Eagle, — a large side-wheel steamer, — we 
swept along with the speed of a railroad train. The water was 
very higii and rising. The passengers were almost all from 
Kentucky. Some of the ladies thronging the saloon were 
accustomed to move in the " best society," which had not lit- 
erary culture and moral worth for its standards, but broad 
acres, wealth in lands and distilleries. They were " raised " 
in Lexington or Louisville or Frankfort. They spoke of the 
" right smart " crowd on board, nearly " tew " hundred, accord- 
ing to their 2'dea, 

But there is another class of Kentuckians as distinct from 
these excellent ladies as chalk from cheese. They are of that 
class to which Da^dd Crocket belonged in his early years, — 
born in a cane-brake and cradled in a trough. There were 
two in the saloon, seated upon an ottoman, — a brother and 
sister. The brother was more than six feet tall, had a sharp, 
thin, lank countenance, with a tuft of hair on his chin 
and on his upper lip. His face was of the color of milk and 
molasses. He wore a Kentucky home-spun suit, — coat, vest 
and pants of the same material, and colored with butternut 
bark. He had on, although in the saloon, a broad-brimmed, 
slouched hat, with an ornament of blotched mud. He was 
evidently more at home with his hat on than to sit bare- 
headed, — and so consulted his own pleasure, without mis- 
trusting that there was such a thing as politeness in the 
world. He had been plashing through the streets of Louis- 
ville. He had scraped off the thickest of the mud. There he 
sat, the right foot thrown across the left knee, with as much 



1862.] CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 69 

complacency as it is possible for a mortal to manifest. In his 
own estimation he was all right, although there was a gap be- 
tween his pants and vest of about six inches, — a yellowish 
tawny streak of shirt. He sat in unconcerned silence, or 
stalked through the saloon with his hands in his pockets, or 
stretched himself at full length upon the sofa and took a com- 
fortable snooze. 

His sister, — a girl of eighteen, — had an oval face, arched 
eyebrows, and full cheeks, flowing, flaxen hair, and gray eyes. 
She wore a plain dress of gray homespun without hoops, and 
when standing, appeared as if she had encased herself in a 
meal-bag. There was no neat white collar or bit of ribbon, or 
cord, or tassel, — no attempt at feminine adornment. She was 
a " nut-brown maid," — bronzed by exposure, with a counte- 
nance as inexpressive as a piece of putty. A dozen ladies 
and gentlemen who came on board at a little town twenty 
miles below Louisville were enjoying themselves, in a circle of 
their own, with the play of " Consequences." The cabin rang 
with their merry laughter, and we who looked on enjoyed 
their happiness ; but there was no sign of animation in her 
countenance, — a block of wood could not have been more 
unsympathetic. 

Among the ladies on board was one a resident of Owens- 
boro', who, upon her marriage eight years before, had moved 
from the town of Auburn, New York, the home of Mr. 
Seward. 

" I was an Abolitionist," she said, " before I left home, but 
now that I know what slavery is, I like it. The slaveholders 
are so independent and live so easy ! They can get rich in a 
few years ; and there is no class in the world who can enjoy so 
much of life as they." 

It was evidently a sincere expression of her sentiments. 

She was for the Union, but wanted slavery let alone. The 
strife in Owensboro' had been exceedingly bitter. Nearly 
all her old friends and neighbors were rampant Secessionists. 
Secession, like a sharp sword, had cut through society and left 
it in two parts, as irreconcilable as vice and virtue. There was 
uncompromising hostility ready to flame out into war at any 
moment in all the Kentucky towns. There was also on board 



70 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

a loud-talking man who walked the saloon with his hands in 
his pockets, looking everybody square in the face ; he was 
intensely loyal to the Union. 

" Why don't BucU move ? Why don't Halleck move ? It 
is my opinion that they are both of 'em old grannies. I want 
to see the Rebels licked. I have lived in Tophct for the last 
six months. I live in Henderson, and it has been a perfect 
hell ever since the Rebels fired on Fort Sumter. I have lost 
my property through the d — d scoundrels. I want a regi- 
ment of Union troops to go down there and clean out the 
devils." 

It was early morning when the scream of the Gray Eagle 
roused the usual crowd of loafers from their sleep and inan- 
ition at Owensboro'. A motley mob came down to the wharf 
eager to hear the news. I had been informed that tlie place 
was one where whiskey distilleries abound, and the information 
proved to be correct. The distillery buildings were distinctly 
recognized by their smoking chimneys, creaking pumps, and 
steaming vats. The crowd on the shore had whiskey in their 
looks and behavior. Among them was one enthusiastic admirer 
of Abraham Lincoln. He was bloated, blear-eyed, a tatterde- 
malion, with just enough whiskey in him to make him thick- 
spoken, reckless, and irresponsible in the eyes of his liquor- 
loving companions. While we were at a distance he swung his 
hat and gave a cheer for Old Abe ; as we came nearer he re- 
peated it ; and as the plank was being thrown ashore he fairly 
danced with ecstasy, shouting, " Hurrah for Old Abe ! He '11 
fix 'em. Hurrah for Old Abe ! Hurrah for Old Abe ! " 

" Shet up, you drunken cuss. Hurrah for Jeff Davis ! " was 
the response of another blear-eyed, tipsy loafer. 

The steamer Storm was tolling its bell as the Gray Eagle 
came to the landing at Evansville, bound for Green River. 
Her decks were piled with bags of corn and coffee. A barge 
was tethered to her side, loaded with bundle hay and a half- 
dozen ambulances. We were just in time to reach the deck 
before the plank was drawn in. Tlien with hoarse puffs the 
heavily laden old craft swung into the stream and surged slow- 
ly against the swollen tide of tlie Ohio. Green River joins the 
Ohio ten miles above Evansville. It is a beautiful stream, Avith 



1862.] CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 71 

forest-bordered banks. At tliat season of the year there was 
nothing particularly inspiring to the muse along this stream, 
unless one can kindle a poetic flame in swamps, lagoons, creeks, 
and log-cabins standing on stilts, with water beneath, around, 
and often within them. On the spit of land between the Ohio 
and Green rivers, on posts several feet under water, was a log- 
cabin ; a row-boat was tied to the steps, a woman and a half- 
dozen children stared at us from the open door. All around 
was forest. A gentleman on board said it was a fishing family. 
If so, the family, little ones and all, might ply the piscatory art 
from doors and windows. A more dreary, watery place can- 
not be imagined. 

The Storm was not a floating palace with gilded saloons, vel- 
vet tapestry carpets, French mirrors, and a grand piano, but 
an old wheezy tow-boat, with great capacity below and little 
above. There was a room for the gentlemen, and a little box 
of a place for any ladies who might be under the necessity of 
patronizing the craft. 

There were no soldiers on board, but thirty or forty passen- 
gers. We were a hard-looking set. Our clothes were muddy, 
our beards shaggy, our countenances far from being Caucasian 
in color, with sundry other peculiarities of dress, feature, and 
demeanor. 

There was one stout man with an enormous quantity of 
brown hair, and a thick yellow beard, belonging to Hopkins- 
ville, near the Tennessee line, who had been compelled to flee 
for his life. 

" We got up a cannon company, and I was captain. We had 
as neat a little six-pounder as you ever saw ; but I was obliged 
to cut and run when the Rebels came in December ; but I 
buried the pup and the Secessionists don't know where she is ! 
If I ever get back there I '11 make some of them cusses — my 
old neighbors — bite the dust. I have just heard that they 
have tied my brother up and almost whipped him to death. 
They gouged out his eyes, stamped in his face, and have taken 
all his property." 

Here he was obliged to stop his narrative and give vent to a 
long string of oaths, consigning the Rebels to all the tortures 
and pains of the bottomless pit forever. Having disgorged his 
wrath, he said, — 



72 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

" Now, sir, there is a grave judicial question on my mind, 
and I would like your opinion upon it. If you owned a darkey 
who should get over into Indiana, a bright, intelligent darkey, 
and he should take with him ton niggers from your secession 
neighbors, and you should happen to know it, would you send 
them back ? " 

" No, sir ; I should not." 

" That is my mind 'zactly. I knew you was a good Union 
man the moment I sot my eyes on ye." Then came an inter- 
esting explanation. He had one slave, a devoted fellow, who 
had become an active conductor on the underground railroad. 
The slave had been often to Evansville and knew the country, 
and had enticed away ten negroes belonging to the Secession- 
ists in the vicinity of Hopkinsville. He had seen them ail that 
morning, and more, had given each of them a hearty break- 
fast ! " You see," said he, " if they belonged to Union men I 

would have sent 'em back ; but they belonged to the 

Secessionists who have driven me out, taken all my property, 
and do you think I 'd be mean enough to send the niggers 
back ? " 

On board the Storm were several other men who had been 
driven from their homes by the Secessionists. There was 
one gentleman, a slaveholder from the little town of Yoliiey, 
between Hopkinsville and the Cumberland River. All of his 
property had been taken, his negroes, if they were not sold 
or seized, were roaming at will. He had two brothers in 
the Rebel army. He was a jilain, sensible, well-informed 
farmer. He lived close upon the Tennessee line, and was 
acquainted with the Southern country. 

" Slavery is a doomed institution," said he ; " from Ken- 
tucky, from Missouri, from Maryland and Virginia the slaves 
have been pouring southward. There has been a great con- 
densation of slaves at the South where they are not wanted, 
and where they cannot be supported if tlie blockade continues. 
The South never has raised its own provisions. She could do 
it if she put forth her energies ; but she never has and she will 
not now. The time will come, if the blockade continues, wlien 
the master will be compelled to say to the slaves, ' Get your liv- 
ing where you can,' and then tlie system, being rolled back 



1862.] CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 73 

upon itself, will be broken up. As for myself, I would like to 
have kept my slaves, because I am getting along in years and 
I wanted them to take care of me ; but as the Secessionists 
have taken them and driven me out, it won't make any differ- 
ence to me whether the system is contiriued or not." 

It is utterly impossible to convey to a New-Englander who 
has never crossed the Hudson a correct idea of a Kentucky 
country village, like that of Calhoun, as seen from the deck of 
the steamer Storm, in the light of a beautiful morning, so mild 
and spring-like that the robins, bluebirds, jays, pewits, and 
sparrows were filling the air with their songs, having returned 
from their sojourn in a Southern clime. A sentinel was plash- 
ing through the mud along the bank, guarding the ferry to the 
town of Rumsey, on the opposite side of the river. The bank 
rises abruptly into the main street of the town. First we have 
the McLean House, the first-class hotel of the place, — a wood- 
en building two stories high, containing six or eight rooms. 
There is beyond it one brick building, then a number of smaller 
buildings containing a couple of rooms each, and forty rods 
distant a church, respectable in style and proportions. The 
land is undulating, and on the hillsides there are dwellings, a 
half-dozen of which you might call comfortable. The original 
forest oaks are still standing, A creek or bayou runs through 
the town, the receptacle of all the filth generated by ten thou- 
sand men, and thousands of mules, horses, and hogs. 

Rumsey, on the opposite side of the river, is of smaller di- 
mensions. Years ago it was a " right smart" town, but busi- 
ness has disappeared. The people have also gone, and now 
one sees a row of windowless, doorless, deserted houses, soaked 
in every flood of waters. 

Visiting the " first class " hotel of the place, we sat down in 
the parlor or reception-room, or whatever room it was, while 
the cook prepared breakfast. It was also the landlord's bed- 
room, occupied by himself and wife. 

Calling upon the landlord for a place for toilet operations, 
we were invited into the kitchen, which was also the dining- 
room and pantry and Jim's bed-room, — Jim being a tall 
negro, who just now is washing dishes, with a tin pan of hot 
water, and without any soap. Dinah is rolling biscuit, and 



74 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

tending the hoe-cake, which is cooking nicely on the stove. 
There is the flour-barrel close at hand. There is one dinner- 
pot, with two kettles, a pail of water, a lantern, the pcppcr-box, 
a dish of fat, a plate of butter, and a great heap of tin dishes 
on the table, where Dinah is moulding the biscuit, while Jim 
occupies the other end. The dining-table stands in the centre 
of the room.. The plates are laid, and the whole is covered 
with a blue cloth, which at first sight seems to be a soldier's 
blanket, and which upon close inspection leaves us still in 
doubt whether it is a table-cloth or a bed-coverlet. There are 
some chairs, and an old desk which has lost its lid, in which 
are nails, a hammer, some old papers, and a deal of dust. It 
evidently " came down from a former generation." 

We have time to notice these things while the landlord is 
preparing for our washing exploit, which is to be performed 
near Jim, with a basin on a chair. 

Then we have breakfast, — beefsteak and porksteak, and 
buckwheat cakes, all fried in lard, sausages, potatoes, Dinah's 
hoe-cakes, hot flour biscuit, and a dish of hash, which will 
not go down at all, and coffee without milk, preferred to 
the water of Green River, which in its natural state is some- 
what the color of yellow snuff", and which is drank by the 
inhabitants of Calhoun, notwithstanding thousands of horses 
are stabled on its banks. 

There was no movement of the troops, therefore nothing 
to detain us at Calhoun, and knowing that there was some- 
thing of interest up the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers, 
we went on board the Mattie Cook, the downward-bound 
steamer. While waiting for her departure we gazed at the 
sights upon the shore. There was a great deal of life, — 
wagons, soldiers, citizens floundering through the mud to the 
landing, transporting goods. There were ludicrous scenes of 
men and teams stuck in the mortar-bed ; but in the midst of 
life there was death. A squad of soldiers came down from 
camp to the hospital with a bier, and with the slow funeral 
dirge brought two of their comrades to the boat, — two 
who had just passed from the scenes of strife on earth to 
the eternal peace beyond. Those who bore them were 
by no means unaffected by the part they were called upon 



1862.] CENTRAL KENTUCKY. 75 

to perform. There were sad countenances, too, on board the 
boat, — two ladies, both strangers to the dead, but not indiffer- 
ent to the scene. They had woman's tender sensibilities, and 
could not keep back the tears from their eyes, for they thought 
of their own sons whom they had just left, and who now stood 
upon the bank to say perhaps a last good-by. 

But how transitory are all the most solemn impressions of 
death ! Ten minutes later a company of soldiers appeared 
for a trip down the river to Stevensport to bag, if possible, the 
squad of Rebels which had been prowling about the town of 
Stevensport. They came on board with a hurrah, and made 
the welkin ring with the " Red, "White, and Blue." It was a 
pleasure to them to leave the hateful place even for a night, 
and be in active service. 



76 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE OPENING OF THE CAIVIPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 

At last the Rebel lines were broken. Commodore Foote had 
opened a gateway to the heart of the Confederacy by the cap- 
ture of Fort Henry on the 6th of February. While up Green 
River I learned of the intended movement, and hastened to be 
present, but was delayed between Evansville and Paducah, and 
was not in season to see the engagement. 

Late on the Friday evening after I saw Commodore Foote in 
Cairo. He had just returned from Fort Henry. 

" Can you favor me with an account of the affair ? " I asked. 

" It will give me great pleasure to do so after I have pre- 
pared my despatches for Washington," he replied. 

It was past midnight when he came to my room. He sat 
down, and leaned back wearily in his chair. But soon recov- 
ering his usual energy, gave the full details of the action. 
He had prepared his instructions to his crews several days be- 
fore the battle, and upon mature thought, saw nothing to 
change. 

To the commanders and crews he said, that it was very 
necessary to success that they should keep cool. He desired 
them to fire with deliberate aim, and not to attempt rapid 
firing, for four reasons, viz. that with rapid firing there was 
always a waste of ammunition ; that their range would be 
wild ; that the enemy would be encouraged unless the fire was 
effectual ; that it was desirable not to heat the guns. 

AVith these instructions he led his fleet up the narrow chan- 
nel under cover of Pine Island, thus avoiding long-range shot 
from the rifled guns which it was known the enemy had in 
position to sweep the main channel. He steamed slow, to allow 
the troops time to gain their position. 

He Nisited each vessel and gave personal directions. He took 
his own position in the pilot-house of the Cincinnati. The St. 



1862.] THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 77 

Louis was on his right hand and the Carondelct and Essex 
were on his left, with the Tyler, Connestoga, and Lexington in 
rear. There is an island a mile and a quarter below the fort. 
When the head of the island was reached the boats came into 
line and were within easy range. 

" Do just as I do," was his last order to the commanders. 

The Cincinnati opened, and the other vessels were quick to 
follow the Commodore's example. 

" I had a definite purpose in view," said he, " to take the 
fort at all hazards. It was necessary for the success of the 
cause. We have had disaster upon disaster, and I intended, 
God helping me, to win a victory. It made me feel bad when 
I saw the Essex drop out of the line, but I knew that the fort 
could n't stand it much longer. I should have opened my 
broadsides in a minute or two, if Tilghman had not surren- 
dered, and that I knew would settle the question. We were 
not more than four hundred yards distant." 

He said that when the Essex dropped behind the Rebels set 
up a tremendous cheer, and redoubled their fire ; but being 
excited their aim was bad. 

" There is nothing like keeping perfectly cool in battle," 
said he. 

" When Tilghman came into my cabin," said the Commo- 
dore, " he asked for terms, but I informed him that his surren- 
der must be final." 

" Well, sir, if I must surrender, it gives me pleasure to sur- 
render to so brave an officer as you," said Tilghman. 

" You do perfectly right to surrender, sir ; but I should not 
have surrendered on any condition." 

" Why so ? I do not understand you." 

" Because I was fully determined to capture the fort or go 
to the bottom." 

The Rebel general opened his eyes at this remark, but re- 
plied, " I thought I had you, Commodore, but you were too 
much for me." 

" But how could you fight against the old flag ? " 

" Well, it did come hard at first ; but if the North had only 
let us alone there would have been no trouble. But they 
would not abide by the Constitution." 



78 FOUR YEATIS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

" Yoli are mistaken, sir. The North has maintained all of 
her Constitutional obligations. You of tlie South have per- 
jured yourselves. I talked to him faithfully," said the zealous 
officer. 

The Commodore was now nervously restless, but said : " I 
never slept better in my life than I did the night before going 
into the battle, and I never prayed more fervently than I did 
yesterday morning, that God would bless the undertaking, and 
he has signally answered my prayer. I don't deserve it, but 
I trust that I shall be grateful for it. But I could n't sleep 
last night for thinking of those poor fellows on board the Essex, 
who were wounded and scalded. I told the surgeons to do 
everything possible for them. Poor fellows ! I must go and 
see that they are well cared for." 

It was one o'clock in the morning, yet exhausted as he was, 
he went to see that the sufferers were having every possible 
attention. 

This was on Saturday morning ; the next day he went to 
church as usual. The minister was not there, and after wait- 
ing awhile the audience one by one began to drop off, where- 
upon Commodore Foote entered the pulpit, and conducted the 
exercises, reading the fourteenth chapter of John's Gospel, and 
addressed the congregation, urging sinners to repentance, pic- 
turing the unspeakable love of Christ, and the rewards which 
await the righteous, and closing the services by a fervent 
prayer. It was as unostentatious as all his other acts, under- 
taken with a dutiful desire to benefit those about him, and to 
glorify God. That was his aim in life. 

The Rebel troops which were in and around F6rt Henry fled 
in dismay soon after the opening of the bombardment, leaving 
all their camp equipage. In the barracks the camp-fires were 
still blazing, and dinners cooking, when our troops entered. 
Books, letters half written, trunks, carpet-bags, knives, pistols, 
were left behind, and were eagerly seized by the soldiers, who 
rent the air with shouts of laughter, mingled with the cheers 
of victory. 

Although not present, a letter fell into my hands written by 
a father in Mississippi to his sons, which gives an insight into 
the condition of affairs in the Confederacy at that time : — 



1862.] THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 79 

"Bear Ceeek, Miss., Dec. 16, 1861. 
" To MT DEAR Boys Sammie and Thomas : — 

" After a long silence I will tell you some little news. I told C. D. 
Moore to tell you that paper was very scarce in this wooden world. I 
went to Vaidere to get this, and was glad to get it at 50 cents per 
quire. 

" The health of our country is pretty good. Crops are very short ; 
corn and cotton — especially cotton — not quite half a crop, though it 
does n't matter, as we can't get any money for it. For my part I know 
not what we are to do. I have n't a red cent. My intention now is to 
plant only about eight acres in cotton ; that will make enough to buy 
or barter my groceries. I fear, my children, we will not live to see as 
prosperous a time after this revolution as there was before it. I often 
think of the language of our Saviour : ' Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani,' 
— My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? I verily believe all 
this calamity has come upon us for our wickedness. Religion is down 
like cotton, — not worth much ; and by the actions of good brethren it 
might be bought for a mere trifle, though if we were to judge from its 
sparseness, like salt, it would be worth $ 40 per sack. 

" O my God, what will become of us ? Go, if you please, to the 
churchyard, and you will hear nothing but secular affairs and war, 
war! Dull times everywhere. Money scarce; pork high, — 10 to 
12J- cents per pound; salt the same; coffee $1.50 per pound, and 
none to be had at that ; calico 30 to 50 cents per yard ; domestics 20 
to 25 cents per yard; sugar 6 to 12^ cents ; molasses 30 to 40 cents, 
and everything in the same ratio." 

The capture of Fort Donelson and the troops defending it, 
"was the first great achievement of the Union armies. Tlie 
affair at Mill Spring, and the taking of Roanoke Island by 
Burnside, were important, but minor engagements when com- 
pared witli the breaking in of the Rebel line of defence on the 
Cumberland and Tennessee. Tlie fighting on Saturday, the 
last day of the series of battles, was desperate and bloody. 
The ground on the right in the morning, when the Rebels 
moved out and overwhelmed McCIernand, was hotly contest- 
ed. Grant's lines were so extended and necessarily thin that 
the Rebels were enabled to push McCIernand back nearly two 
miles. This was done by Pillow and Bushrod Johnson, who 
gained McCIernand' s flank. Buckner, however, who was to 
strike McClernand's left, was slow in advancing. Had he 



80 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

moved as rapidly as the other divisions, McClcrnand would have 
been utterly routed. It was then that W. 11. L. Wallace, of Illi- 
nois, showed his great military ability. He had been in the 
Mexican war, was courageous, and had that power of presence 
which made every man feel that he was under the eye of his 
commander. Then, too, General Logan animated his men, 
and held them in close contact with the Rebels till wounded. 

The charge of General C. F. Smith's division on the left, in 
the afternoon of Saturday, was sublime. General Smith was 
an old soldier, who had served in Mexico. His hair was long 
and white, and as he rode along his lines, making arrangements 
for the advance, he was the most conspicuous of all men on 
the field. He paid no heed to the rifle and musket balls which 
were singing about his ears ; he sat firmly on his horse. 
When his lines were ready, he led them, with his cap on the 
point of his sword. 

It was sunset or nearly that hour, when his division moved 
to the attack of the outer works, at the southwest angle of the 
fort. There was a steady advance through an open field, — 
a rush up the hill, — a cheer, — the rout of Hanson's brigade 
of Rebels, the Second Kentucky, Twentieth Mississippi, and 
Thirtieth Tennessee, — a long, loud shout of triumph, min- 
gled with the roar of cannon, and the rolls of musketry from 
the fort, pouring upon them a concentrated fire ! 

The scene at Donelson on Sunday morning, the day of sur- 
render, was exceedingly exhilarating, — the marching in of the 
victorious divisions, — the bands playing, their flags waving, 
the cheers of the troops, — the gunboats firing a salute, — 
the immense flotilla of river steamboats gayly decorated ! The 
New Uncle Sam was the boat on which General Grant had 
established his head-quarters. The Uncle Sam, at a signal 
from Commodore Foote, ranged ahead, came alongside one of 
the gunboats, and, followed by all the fleet, steamed up river 
past Fort Donelson, thick with Confederate soldiers, — past the 
intrenched camp of log-huts, past a school-house on a hill, 
above which waved the hospital flag, — and on to Dover, the 
gunboats thundering a national salute the while. 

A warp was thrown ashore, the plank run out. I sprang 
up the bank, and mingled among the disconsolate creatures, — 



1862.] THE OPENING OF THE CAIIPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 81 

a care-worn, haggard, melancholy crow<!l which stood upon the 
heights above. They all told one story, claiming that they had 
fought well ; that we outnumbered them ; that there was a dis- 
agreement among their officers ; that we had got General Buck- 
ner ; that Floyd and Pillow had escaped ; that Floyd had taken 
four regiments of his brigade ; that there were four steamers ; 
that they went off crowded with soldiers, the guards sunk to 
the water's edge. 

The town of Dover is the county seat of Stewart, and a point 
where the farmers ship their produce. It is a straggling village 
on uneven ground, and contains perhaps five hundred inhabi- 
tants. There are a few buildings formerly used for stores, 
a doctor's office, a dilapidated church, a two-story square brick 
court-house, and a half-dozen decent dwellings. But the 
place had suffered greatly while occupied by the Secession 
forces. Nearly every building was a hospital. Trees had been 
cut down, fences burned, windows broken, and old buildings 
demolished for fuel. 

We came upon a squad of soldiers hovering around a fire. 
Some were wrapped in old patched bedquilts which had cov- 
ered them at home. Some had white blankets, made mostly 
of cotton. Others wore bright booking, which had evidently 
been furnished from a merchant's stock. One had a faded 
piece of threadbare carpet. Their guns were stacked, their 
equipments thrown aside, cartridge-boxes, belts, and ammuni- 
tion trampled in the mud. There were shot-guns, single and 
double-barreled, old heavy rifles, flint-lock muskets of 1828, 
some of them altered into percussion locks, with here and 
there an Enfield rifle. 

A few steps brought me to the main landing, where the Con- 
federate stores were piled, and from which Floyd made his 
escape. The gunboats were lying off the landing, and a por- 
tion of McClernand's division was on the hills beyond, the 
stars and stripes and the regimental banners waving, and the 
bands playing. Away up on the hill Taylor's battery was firing 
a national salute. 

There were sacks of corn, tierces of rice, sides of bacon, 
barrels of flour, hogsheads of sugar, sufficient for several days' 
rations. Then there was a dense crowd of Secessionists, evi- 
6 



82 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

clently the rabble, or the debris of the army, Ijclonging to all 
regiments. Some were sullen, some indifferent, some evidently 
felt a sense of relief, mingled with their apprehensions for the 
future. Among them were squads of our own soldiers, with 
smiling faces, feeling very much at home, but manifesting no 
disposition to add to the unhappiness of the captured. 

General McClernand's division had marched down to the 
outskirts of the village, and was keeping guard. A private 
ran into the court-house and threw the flag of the Union to 
the breeze from the belfry. Soldiers of our army were inspect- 
ing the shops of the place. In the basement of a store was the 
Confederate arsenal. There were piles of rifles, old shot-guns, 
many of them ticketed with the owner's name. There were 
many hunter's rifles, which had done good service in other 
days among the mountains and forests of Tennessee, but, for 
use in battle, of but little account. 

In another building was the Commissary department. There 
were hogsheads of sugar, barrels of rice, boxes of abominable 
soap, and a few barrels of flour. Later in the day we saw 
soldiers luxuriating like children in the hogsheads of sugar. 
Many a one filled his canteen with New Orleans molasses and 
his pockets with damp brown sugar. Looking into a store we 
found a squad of soldiers taking things of no earthly use. One 
had a looking-glass under his arm, one a paper of files, another 
several brass candlesticks, one a package of bonnets. 

The Mississippians and Texans were boiling over with rage 
against Floyd and Pillow for having deserted them. 

" Floyd always was a d — d thief and sneak," said one. 

Just before sunset we took a ramble through the grounds 
and encampments of the Rebels, who were falling into line 
preparatory to embarking upon the steamers. Standing on 
a hill beyond the village, we had at one view almost all their 
force. Hogarth never saw such a sight ; Shakespeare, in his 
conceptions of Falstaff's tatterdemalions, could not have imag- 
ined the like, — not that they were deficient in intellect, or 
wanting in courage, for among them were noble men, brave 
fellows, who shed tears when they found they were prisoners 
of war, and who swore with round oaths that they would shoot 
Floyd as they would a dog, if they could get a chance, but that 



1862.] THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 83 

for grotesque appearance they were never equalled, except by 
the London bagmen and chiffoniers of Paris. 

There were all sorts of uniforms, brown-colored predominat- 
ing, as if they were in the snuff business and had been rolled 
in tobacco-dust. There was sheep gray, iron gray, blue gray, 
dirty gray, with bed blankets, quilts, buffalo-robes, pieces of 
carpeting of all colors and figures, for blankets. Each had his 
pack on his shoulder. Judging by their garments, one would 
have thought that the last scrapings, the odds and ends of hu- 
manity and of dry goods, had been brought together. 

The formal surrender of the fort took place in the cabin of 
the New Uncle Sam in the evening. Buckner sat on one side 
of the table and General Grant on the other. Buckner was 
attended by two of his staff. The Rebel commander was in 
the prime of life, although his hair had turned iron gray. He 
was of medium stature, having a low forehead and thin cheeks, 
wore a moustache and meagre whiskers. He had on a light-blue 
kersey overcoat and a checked neckcloth. He was smoking a 
cigar, and talking in a low, quiet tone. He evidently felt that he 
was in a humiliating position, but his deportment was such as 
to command respect when contrasted with the course of Floyd 
and Pillow. His chief of staff sat by his side. 

Buckner freely gave information relative to his positions, his 
forces, their disposition, and his intentions. He expected to 
escape, and claimed that the engagements on Saturday were 
all in favor of the Confederates. No opprobrious words were 
used by any one. No discussions entered into. He asked 
for subsistence for his men, and said that he had only two days' 
provisions on hand. He had favors to ask for some of his 
wounded officers, all of which were readily acceded to by Gen- 
eral Grant, who was very much at ease, smoking a cigar, and 
conducting the business with dignity, yet with despatch. 

The prisoners were taken on board of the transports, the 
men on the lower deck, and the officers having the freedom of 
the boat. The saloons and cabins, berths and state-rooms were 
filled with the wounded of both armies. 

" The conditions of the surrender have been most shame- 
fully violated," said a tall, dark-haired, black-eyed Mississippi 
colonel, on board the Belle of Memphis. 



84 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

" How SO ? " I asked. 

" It was agreed that we should be treated like gentlemen, 
but the steward of the boat won't let us have seats at the table. 
He charges us a half-dollar a meal, and refuses Confederate 
money." 

" Well, sir, you fare no worse than the rest of us. I paid 
for a state-room, but the surgeon turned me out and put in a 
wounded man, which was all right and proper, and at which I 
have no complaint to make, and I shall think myself well off 
if I can get hard-tack." 

While conversing with him, a Mississippi captain came up^ — 
a tall, red-whiskered, tobacco-chewing, ungainly fellow, with a 
swaggering air. " This is d — d pretty business. They talk of 
reconstructing the Union, and begin by rejecting our money. 
I don't get anything to eat," he said. 

I directed his attention to a barrel of bacon and several 
boxes of bread which had been opened for the prisoners, and 
from which they were helping themselves. He turned away in 
disgust, saying, — 

"Officers are to be treated according to their rank, — like 
gentlemen, — and I'll be d — d if I don't pitch in and give 
somebody a licking ! " 

Some of the officers on board conducted themselves with 
perfect decorum. One young physician gave his services to 
our wounded. 

Although Commodore Foote had been wounded in the gun- 
boat attack upon the fort, he intended to push up the river to 
Nashville, and intercept General Albert Sidney Johnston, who 
he knew must be falling back from Bowling Green, but he was 
stopped by a despatch from General Halleck to General Grant. 
" Don't let Foote go up the river." 

The gunboats could have reached Nashville in eight hours. 
Floyd and Pillow, who made their escape from Donelson at sun- 
rise, reached the city before noon, while the congregations were 
in the churches. Had Commodore Foote followed he woidd 
have been in the city by three o'clock, holding the bridges, 
patrolling the rivers, and cutting off Johnston's retreat. Buell 
had between thirty and forty thousand men, Johnston less than 
twenty. On the heel of the demoralization incident to the 



1862.] THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 85 

rout at Mill Springs, Fort Henry, and the loss at Donelson, the 
entire Rebel army in the West could have been destroyed, but 
for the dictation of General Halleck, sitting in the planter's 
house five hundred miles distant. 

" Had I been permitted to carry out my intention we should 
have put an end to the rebellion in the West," said Commo- 
dore Foote. 

General Halleck had endeavored to enforce his order No. 3, 
excluding negroes from his lines, but before daybreak on Sun- 
day morning at Donelson a negro entered the lines, having 
made his way out from Dover, past the Rebel pickets. He 
reported that the Rebels were fleeing. Some of the officers 
suggested that he was sent out to lure Grant into a trap, and 
proposed to tie him up and give him a whipping. 

" You may hang me, shoot me, do anything to me, if it 
a'n't as I tell you," was his earnest reply. 

One hour later came the Rebel flag of truce from Buckner, 
asking for the appointment of Commissioners ; but the infor- 
mation already obtained enabled Grant to reply : " I propose 
to move immediately upon your works." 

The negro was a slave, who entered the Union lines in search 
of freedom, — that which his soul most longed for. General 
Grant did not exclude him. Like a sensible man, he took no 
action in the matter, gave no directions as to what should 
be done with him. The slave being at liberty to decide for 
himself, took passage on a transport for Cairo. The steamer 
stopped at a landing for wood, when the slave was recognized 
by some of the citizens, who said that he belonged to a Union 
man, and demanded that he should be put off the boat. The 
captain of the steamer was inclined to accede to their demands ; 
but the officers on board, knowing what service he had ren- 
dered, informed the captain that he need not be under any 
apprehensions of arrest by civil process, as martial law was in 
force. They kept the negro under their protection, and gave 
him his liberty, thus setting at defiance General Halleck and 
his pro-slavery order. 

A great many negroes came into the lines, and were welcomed 
by the soldiers. Among them was a boy, black as anthracite, 
with large, lustrous eyes, and teeth as white as purest ivory. 



86 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

He "was thirteen years old, born in Kentncky, hut for several 
years had lived near Dover. His master, he said, was a gentle- 
man, owned twenty-four slaves. He had on a greasy shirt of 
snuff-colored jean, the genuine negro cloth, such as one half 
the Southern army was compelled to wear. His slouched hat 
was tipped back upon his head, showing a countenance indica- 
tive of intelligence. 

" Well, my boy, what is your name ? " I asked. 

" Dick, massa." 

" Where do you live ? " 

" About fourteen miles from Dover, massa, up near de roUiu' 
mill." 

" Is your master a Secessionist ? " 

" He was Secesh, massa, but he be Union now." 

This was correct testimony, the master appearing with great 
boldness at General Grant's head-quarters to let it be known he 
was for the Union. 

" Are you a slave, Dick ? " 

" I was a slave, but I 's free now ; I 's 'fiscated." 

" Where were you when the fight was going on at Fort Don- 
elson ? " 

" At home ; but when massa found de fort was took he 
started us all off for de Souf, but we got away and come down 
to Dover, and was 'fiscated." 

The master was a Secessionist till his twenty-four chattels, 
which he was trying to run South, became perverse and veered 
to the North with much fleetness. Not only were these twenty- 
four started South, but ten times twenty-four, from the vicinity 
of Dover, and an hundred times twenty-four from Clarkesville, 
Nashville, and all along the Cumberland. When Donelson 
fell, the edifice of the Secessionists became very shaky in one 
corner. 

Columbus was occupied on the 5th of March, the Rebels 
retiring to Island No. 10. Visiting the post-office, I secured 
several bushels of Southern newspapers, which revealed a state 
of general gloom and despondency throughout the Confeder- 
acy. Inspired by the events of 18G1, — the battles of Bull Run, 
Belmont, and other engagements, — the Southern muse had 
struck its lyre. 



1862.] THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 87 

The battle of Belmont had kindled a poetic flame in the 
breast of Jo. Augustine Signaigo, in the Memphis Appeal. 
The opening stanza is as follows : — 

" Now glory to our Southern cause, and praises be to God, 
That He hath met the Southron's foe, and scourged him with his rod ; 
On the tented plains of Belmont, there in their might the Vandals came. 
And gave unto Destruction all they found, with sword and flame ; 
But they met a stout resistance from a little band that day. 
Who swore that they would conquer, or return to mother clay." 

After a description of the fight, we have the following warn- 
ing in the tenth stanza : — 

" Let the horrors of this day to the foe a warning be, 
That the Lord is with the South, that His arm is with the free ; 
That her soil is pure and spotless as her clear and sunny sky, 
And he who dare pollute it on her soil shall basely die ; 
For His fiat hath gone forth, e'en among the Hessian horde, 
That the South has got His blessing, for the South is of the Lord." 

The New Orleans Picayune had an " Ode on the Meeting of 
the Southern Congress, by Henry Timrod," which opened in 
the following lofty lines : — 

" Hath not the morning dawned with added light ! 
And will not evening call another star 
Out of the infinite regions of the night 
To mark this day in Heaven ? At last, we are 
A nation among nations ; and the world 
Shall soon behold, in many a distant port, 
Another flag unfurled ! " 

This poet gave the following contrast between the North and 
South : — 

" Look where we will, we cannot find a ground 

For any mournful song ! 
Call up the clashing elements around. 

And test the right and wrong ! 
On one side, — pledges broken, creeds that lie. 
Religion sunk In vague philosophy ; 
Empty professions ; Pharisaic leaven ; 
Souls that would sell their birth-right in the sky ; 
Philanthropists who pass the beggar by, 
And laws which controvert .the laws of Heaven ! 
And, on the other, first, a righteous cause ! 

Then, honor without flaws. 
Truth, Bible reverence, charitable wealth, 



88 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. []ilarch, 

And for the poor and humble, laws which give 
Not the mean right to buy the right to live, 

But life, home and health. 
To doubt the issue were distrust in God ! 
If in his providence He had decreed 
That, to the peace for which we pray, 
Through the Red Sea of War must lie our way. 
Doubt not, O brothers, we shall find at need 

A Moses with his rod ! " 

The Yicksburg Citizen had thirty stanzas rehearsing the 
events of the year 1861. Two or three selections will be suf- 
ficient to show that the muse halted a little now and then : — 

" Last year's holidays had scarcely passed. 
Before momentous events came thick and fast ; 
Mississippi on the 9th of January went out, 
Determined to stand strong, firm and stout. 

" Major Anderson would not evacuate Sumter, 
^Vhen Gen. Beauregard made him surrender, — 
And sent him home to his abolition master, 
Upon a trot, if not a little faster. 

" Then Old Abe Lincoln got awful mad, 
Because his luck had turned out so bad ; 
And he grasped his old-fashioned steel pen, 
And ordered out seventy-five thousand men. 

" May the Almighty smile on our Southern race, 
May Liberty and Independence grow apace, 
May our Liberties this year be achieved, 
And our distress and sorrow graciously relieved." 

The bombardment of Island No. 10 commenced on the 9th 
of March, and continued nearly A month. General Pope mov- 
ing overland, captured New Madrid, planted his guns, and had 
the Rebel steamboats in a trap. The naval action of March 
17th was grand beyond description. The mortars were in full 
play. The Cincinnati, Benton, and St. Louis were lashed 
together, and anchored with their bows down stream. The 
Carondelet and Mound City were placed in position to give a 
cross-fire with the other three, while the Pittsburg was held in 
reserve. 

It was past one o'clock in the afternoon of as beautiful a 



1862.] THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 89 

day as ever dawned upon the earth, when a ball of bunting 
went up to the top of the Benton's flagstaff, and fluttered out 
into the battle signal. Then came a flash, a belching of smoke 
from her bows, a roar and reverberation rolling far away, — 
a screaming in the air, a tossing up of earth and an explosion 
in the Rebel works. 

The highest artistic skill cannot portray the scene of that 
afternoon, — the flashes and flames, — the great white clouds, 
mounting above the boats, and floating majestically away over 
the dark gray forests, — the mortars throwing up vast columns 
of sulphurous cloud, which widen, expand, and roll forward in 
fantastic folds, — the shells one after another in swift succession 
rising, rotating, rushing upward and onward, sailing a thou- 
sand feet high, their course tracking a light gossamer trail, 
which becomes a beautiful parabola, and then the terrific ex- 
plosion, — a flash, a handful of cloud, a strange whirring of 
the ragged fragments of iron hurled upwards, outwards, and 
downwards, crashing through the forests ! 

I was favored with a position on the Silver Wave steamer, 
lying just above the Benton, her wheels slowly turning to keep 
her in position to run down and help the gunboats if by 
chance they were disabled. The Rebel batteries on the main- 
land and on the Island, the Rebel steamers wandering up and 
down like rats in a cage, were in full view. With my glass I 
could see all that took place in and around the nearest battery. 
Columns of water were thrown up by the shot from the gun- 
boats, like the first gush from the hose of a steam fire-engine, 
which falls in rainbow-colored spray. There were little splashes 
in the stream when the fragments of shell dropped from the 
sky. Round shot skipped along the surface of the river, tear- 
ing through the Rebel works, filling the air with sticks, timbers, 
earth, and branches of trees, as if a thunderbolt had fallen. 
There were explosions followed by volumes of smoke rising 
from the ground like the mists of a summer morning. There 
was a hissing, crackling, and thundering explosion in front and 
rear and overhead. But there were plucky men in the fort, 
who at intervals came out from their bomb-proof, and sent 
back a defiant answer. There was a flash, a volume of smoke, 
a hissing as if a flying fiery serpent were sailing through the 



90 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

air, growing louder, clearer, nearer, more fearful and terrific, 
crashing into the Benton, tearing up the iron plating, cutting 
oj6f beams, splintering planks, smashing the crockery in the 
pantry, and breaking up the Admiral's writing-desk. 

" Howling and screeching and' ■whizzing, 
The bomb-shells arched on high, 
And then, like fiery meteors, 
Dropped swiftly from the sky." 

All through the sunny hours, till evening, the gunboats 
maintained their position. While around the bright flashes, 
clouds of smoke, and heavy thunderings brought to mind the 
gorgeous imagery of Revelation, descriptive of the last judg- 
ment. 

While the bombardment was at its height, I received a pack- 
age of letters, intrusted to my care. There was one post- 
marked from a town in Maine, directed to a sailor on the St. 
Louis. Jumping on board a tug, which was conveying ammu- 
nition to the gunboats, I visited the vessel to distribute the 
letters. A gun had burst during the action, killing and wound- 
ing several of the crew. It was a sad scene. There were the 
dead, — two of them killed instantly, and one of them the 
brave fellow from Maine. Captain Paulding opened the letter, 
and found it. to be from one who had confided to the noble 
sailor her heart's affections, — who was looking forward to the 
time when the war would be over, and they would be happy 
together as husband and wife. 

" Poor girl ! I shall have to write her sad news," said the 
captain. 

Day after day and night after night the siege was kept up, 
till it grew exceedingly monotonous. I became so accustomed 
to the pounding that, though the thirteen-inch mortars were 
not thirty rods distant from my quarters, I was not wakened 
by the tremendous explosions. Commodore Foote found it 
very difficult to fight down stream, as the water was very liigh, 
flooding all the country. Colonel Bisscll, of General Pope's 
army, proposed the cutting of a canal through the woods, to 
enable the gunboats to reach New Madrid. It was an Her- 
culean undertaking. A light-draft transport was rigged for 



1862.] THE OPENING OF THE CAMPAIGN IN TENNESSEE. 91 

the enterprise. Machinery was attached to the donkey-engine 
of the steamer by which immense cotton-wood trees were sawed 
ofif four feet under water. 

There was something very enchanting in the operation, — to 
steam out from the main river, over corn-fields and pasture- 
lands, into the dark forests, threading a narrow and intricate 
channel, across the country, — past the Rebel batteries. A 
transport was taken through, and a tug-boat, but the channel 
was not deep enough for the gunboats. 

Captain Stembel, commanding the Benton, — a brave and 
competent officer. Commodore Foote's right-hand man, — pro- 
posed to run the batteries by night to New Madrid, capture 
the Rebel steamer which Pope had caught in a trap, then turn- 
ing head up stream take the Rebel batteries in reverse. The 
Commodore hesitated. He was cautious as well as brave. At 
length he accepted the plan, and sent the Pittsburg and Caron- 
delet past the batteries at night. It was a bold undertaking, 
but accomplished without damage to the gunboats. The cur- 
rent was swift and strong, and they went with the speed of 
a race-horse. 

Their presence at New Madrid was hailed with joy by the 
troops. Four steamboats had worked their way through the 
canal. A regiment was taken on board each boat. The 
Rebels had a battery on the other side of the river at "Wat- 
son's Landing, which was speedily silenced by the two gun- 
boats. The troops landed, and under General Paine drove 
the Rebels from their camp, who fled in confusion, throwing 
away their guns, knapsacks, and clothing. 

General Pope sent over the balance of his troops, and with 
his whole force moved upon General Mackall, the Rebel com- 
mander, who surrendered his entire command, consisting of 
nearly seven thousand prisoners, one hundred and twenty- 
three guns, and an immense amount of supplies. 

The troops of General Paine' s brigade came across a farm- 
yard which was well stocked with poultry, and helped them- 
selves. The farmer's wife visited the General's head-quarters 
to enter a complaint. 

" They are stealing all my chickens, General ! I sha'n't have 
one left," she exclaimed, excitedly. 



92 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

" I am exceedingly sorry, ma'am," said the General, with 
great courtesy ; " but we are going to put down the rebellion 
if it takes every chicken in the State of Tennessee ! " 

The woman retired, evidently regarding the Yankees as a 
race of vandals. _ 

A 



1862.] PITTSBUEG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 93 



CHAPTER VII. 

PITTSBUEG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 

The battle of Pittsburg Landing, or Shiloh as it is some- 
times called, was fought on the 6th and 7th of April. It was 
a contest which has scarcely been surpassed for manhood, pluck, 
endurance, and heroism. In proportion to the numbers en- 
gaged the loss in killed and wounded was as great as that of 
any battle of the war. The disasters to the Rebel cause in Ten- 
nessee moved Davis to hurry reinforcements to Corinth, which 
was the new base of Johnston's operations./ Beauregard was 
sent into the department. He had the reputation of being a 
great commander, because he commanded the Rebel batteries 
in the attack on Sumter, and had received the glory of winning 
the victory at Bull Run. Time is the test of honor. Great 
men, like the stars, have their hours of rising and setting. He 
was in the zenith of his fame. 

Albert Sydney Johnston was still in command, but he was 
induced to move from Corinth to Pittsburg Landing and attack 
Grant before Buell, who was slowly moving across the country 
from Nashville, could join him. 

Buell marched with great deliberation. He even gave ex- 
press orders that there should be six miles' space between the 
divisions of his army. / The position at Pittsburg Landing was 
chosen by General Smith, as being a convenient base for a 
movement upon Corinth. It had some natural advantages for 
defence, — Lick Creek and a ravine above the Landing, — but 
nothing was done towards erecting barricades or breastworks. 
There are writers who maintain that the attack of the Rebels 
was expected ; but if expected, would not prudence have dic- 
tated the slashing of trees, the erection of breastworks, and 
a regular disposition of the forces ? On Friday and Saturday 
the Rebel cavalry appeared in our front, but were easily driven 
back towards Corinth. ) 



94 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

Nothing was done towards strengthening the line ; no orders 
were issued in anticipation of a battle till the pickets were 
attacked on Sunday morning, while the troops were cooking 
their coffee, and while many of the officers were in bed. 

Pittsburg is the nearest point to Corinth on the river. The 
road winds up the bank, passes along the edge of a deep 
ravine, leading southwest. It forks a half-mile from the 
Landing, the left-hand path leading to Hamburg up the river, 
and the main road leading to Sliiloh Church, four miles from 
the Landing. The accompanying sketch of the church was 
taken the week after the battle, with the head-quarter tents of 
General Sherman around it. Its architecture is exceedingly 
primitive. It is a fair type of the inertness of the people of 
that region at the time. It is about twenty-five or thirty 
feet square, built of logs, without pulpit or pews, with rade 
benches for seats. Once it was chinked with clay, but the 
rains have washed out the mortar, and the wind comes in 
through all the crevices. It is thoroughly ventilated. It 
would make a decent corn-crib for an Illinois farmer. 

A brook meanders through the forest, furnishing water for 
the worshipping assemblies. South of the church, and across 
the brook, is a clearing, — an old farm-house where Beauregard 
wrote his despatch to Jeff Davis on Sunday night, announcing 
a great victory. There are other little clearings, which have 
been long under cultivation. The people were too indolent to 
make new openings in the forest, where centuries of mould had 
accumulated. The country was but little further advanced 
than when Daniel Boone passed through the Cumberland Gap. 
Civilization came and made a beginning ; but the blight of slav- 
ery was there. How the tillage and culture of New England 
or Ohio would crown those swells of land with sheaves of grain ! 
What corn and clover fields, pastures of honeysuckle, gardens 
of roses ! Within four miles of one of the most beautiful rivers 
in the world, — in a country needing only industiy to make it 
a paradise, — the mourning dove filled the air with its plaintive 
notes in the depths of an almost unbroken forest, while the 
few people, shiftless and destitute of the comforts of civiliza- 
tion, knew no better than to fight against their own best in- 
terests. 



1862.] PITTSBURG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 95 

The majority of the poor whites of the South are very igno- 
rant. Few of them have ever attended school. In Tennessee, 
by the census of 1850, there were more than seventy thousand 
native-born American adults who could not read. Not one 
half of the prisoners captured at Donelson could read or write. 
While the army was lying before Corinth, I visited a Missis- 
sippi school-house, — a log building chinked with mud, covered 
with long split oak shingles. It had a huge fireplace, built 
of stones, and a chimney laid up with sticks and mud. There 
were openings for two windows, but frames, sash, and glass 
all were wanting. There was no floor but the beaten earth, 
— no desks. Stakes were driven into the ground, upon which 
slabs of oak were laid for seats. The teacher's desk was a 
large dry-goods box. 

The State of North Carolina, with a white population of 
five hundred and fifty-three thousand, had eighty thousand 
native whites, over twenty years of age, who had never at- 
tended school. In the State of Virginia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, five States having a 
population of two million six hundred and seventy thousand, 
there were two hundred and sixty-two thousand native-born 
Americans, over twenty years of age, unable to read or write ! 

It will be no easy matter to awaken aspirations in the minds 
of this class. They have been so long inert, so long taught to 
believe that labor is degrading, that rapid progress of Southern 
society cannot be expected immediately, unless emigration in- 
fuses a new vitality into the community. 

Ignorance was on the increase throughout the South. Public 
schools were of little value where they existed, and the county 
was so sparsely settled in many places there were not scholars 
enough to form one. The school fund arising from the sale of 
public lands was often appropriated to other uses. In Arkan- 
sas it had been squandered by worthless officials. The planters 
and wealthy farmers employed teachers in their families. Be- 
fore the war, thousands of young ladies from the North were 
thus engaged. They sat at the planter's table and associated 
with his daughters ; but, however intelligent, refined, or agree- 
able they might be, they were not received as their equals in 
society. Such teaching as they received, although the teacher 



96 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTKG. [-^Pl'il) 

might be faithful, was of little account. The children, proud 
and hauglity, daily hearing of the inferiority of the people of 
the North, were not always disposed to receive instruction, 
much less to submit to correction, at the hands of a " Yankee 
schoolma'am." To be chivalrous, courteous, high-minded, and 
generous toward woman has ever been the boast of the men 
of the South ; but, during the months immediately preceding 
the outbreak of the Rebellion, insulting and abusive language 
was freely uttered in the presence of Northern ladies. There 
was rudeness not only of language, but in some instances of 
action. The young bloods of the aristocracy, learning to crow 
as they heard the old cocks, not unfrequently rose in rebellion 
against the authority of the teacher. Especially was this the 
case with teachers employed in the public schools, A Yan- 
kee schoolmaster or schoolmistress was one who could be in- 
sulted with impunity ; and so bitter was the hatred, that, weeks 
before the first gun was fired at Sumter, Northern teachers 
were forced to leave their schools and retire from the Confed- 
eracy. 

/ To General Sherman more than to any division commander 
is credit- due for the victory at Pittsburg Landing, / When the 
first volley of musketry reverberated through the forest on Sim- 
day morning he leaped mto his saddle^' He was conspicuous 
everywhere, riding along the lines regardless of the bullets 
which riddled his clothes. Early in the battle he was wounded 
in the wrist, but wrapping a bandage round his arm, continued 
in the field. Three horses were shot under him. He was a 
conspicuous mark for the Rebel riflemen. His fearless example 
was inspiring to the men. And so through the long hours of 
the day he was able to hold his position by the church, till the 
giving way of Prentiss and Hurlburt, nearer the river, made it 
necessary to fall back. Here Grant first exhibited those quali- 
ties of cliaracter which have made him the great military com- 
mander of the age. " We will beat them yet. They can't pass 
this ravine," were his words of encouragement as he selected 
the final line, leading to the landing. The contest was virtu- 
ally decided at five o'clock on Sunday afternoon, when Brcck- 
enridge attempted to cross the gorge near the river and was 
hurled back with great loss. Johnston and Beauregard made 



1862.] PITTSBURG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPfflS. 97 

a great mistake in attacking at a point within reach of the 
gunboats, i Had they come in on the Purdy road, between 
Shiloh Church and Crump's Landing, in all human probability 
there would have been a far different record for the his- 
torians of the future. Had they attacked northwest of the 
church instead of south of it, they would have taken Grant in 
reverse, and forced him to change the whole front of his army ; 
they would have had no defile to cross, would have been 
beyond reach of the gunboats, and would have stood a fair 
chance of cutting off Lewis Wallace, who was at Crump's 
Landing, from all connection with the main army. 

The defeat of the Rebels was decisive, and yet Beauregard 
sent the following despatch to Richmond : — 

"Corinth, April 8th, 1862. 
" To THE Seceetakt of Wak at Kichmond : — 

" We have gained a great and glorious victory. Eight to ten thou- 
sand prisoners, and thirty-six pieces of cannon. Buell reinforced Grant, 
and we retired to our entrenchments at Corinth, which we can hold. 

Loss heavy on both sides. 

" BEAUREGAKD." 

On the same day he sent a flag of truce to General Grant with 
the following message, also asking leave to bury the Confeder- 
ate dead : — 

" Sir, at the close of the conflict yesterday, my forces being exhausted 
by the extraordinary length of the time during which they were en- 
gaged with yours on that and the preceding day, and it being apparent 
that you had received and were still receiving reinforcement, I felt it 
my duty to withdraw my troops from the immediate scene of the con- 
flict." 

From Shiloh to the close of the war, Beauregard's popularity 
was on the wane, and the Southern people lost confidence in 
him. I was at Island No. 10 when the battle was fought, but 
joined the army the week after. 

As the army moved towards Corinth, there was abundant 
evidence that the defeat of the Rebels was most disastrous, — 
that their retreat was hasty. Blankets, knapsacks, haversacks, 
here and there muskets, wagons, one overturned in a slough, 
one with its tongue broken, tents, harnesses, oats, corn, flour, 
tent-poles, were confusedly scattered along the way. The car- 

7 



98 FOUR YEARS OF HGHTING. [April, 

casses of dead horses tainted the air. There were piles of earth 
newly heaped above those who died from their wounds. They 
fled in a fright on Monday night. I came unexpectedly upon a 
little log-hut, on a by-path leading toward Monterey. Two of 
McCook's cavalry rode up in advance of me. A widow woman, 
middle aged, with a little girl and two little boys occupied it. 
She kindly gave me a drink of water, and informed me that 
there were three Confederate wounded in the other room. I 
looked in upon them for a moment. Suffering had wasted 
them, and they had no disposition to talk of the past or the 
future. The good woman had been kind to them, but she had 
seen a great deal of sorrow. On Monday night one hundred 
wounded were brought to her house. Her two horses had 
been seized by the Eebels, her corn eaten, and no equivalent 
returned. She conversed unreservedly ; deplored the war, and 
wished it over. There were seven new-made graves in her 
garden, and in her dooryard a heap of cinders and ashes, 
and charred brands, — fragments of wagons and tent-poles. 
On the upper Corinth road fifty wounded were lying, cared 
for by our surgeons. 

I recall some of the scenes of the movement upon Corinth. 
Here is an open forest, undulating land with little or no under- 
brush ; thousands of wagons, all plodding on, not in slow, easy 
motion, but by fits and starts, with cutting, slashing, shouting, 
swearing, a chorus of profanity resounding through the forests. 
A mule sticks fast ; he tumbles ; his mate falls upon him. The 
drivers become enraged ; then follows a general melee, a long 
halt, frantic attempts to start again, an unloading and reloading. 
Other trains in the rear, tired of waiting, turn to the right or 
left, perhaps to pass the little slough safely, only to meet with 
a similar mishap ten rods farther along. A battery struggles 
along, with twelve horses attached to a single piece of artillery. 
The entire forest is cut up by passing teams. Mingled with 
the thousands of wagons are regiments. They, too, are in con- 
fusion. Buell's and Grant's forces have become mixed. The 
divisions have been ordered to move, but evidently with no pre- 
arranged system. As far as the eye can see it is one grand 
hurly-burly, — one frantic struggle to make headway, — and 
this for a half-dozen miles. What a waste of horse-flesh ! 



1862.] PITTSBUEG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 99 

Here are six mules attempting to draw six boxes of bread, — 
weight perhaps six hundred pounds. The cavahy bring out 
their supplies on horses, each cavalryman bringing a bag of 
oats. There is cursing, swearing, pounding. The army in 
Flanders could not have been more profane. The brutality 
of the drivers is terrible. A miserable fellow, destitute of 
sense and humanity, strikes a mule over the head, felling the 
animal to the ground. Noble horses are remorselessly cut up 
by these fiendish beings in human form. There is no check 
upon their cruelty. You see dead horses everywhere. All 
the finer sensibilities become callous. One must see, but not 
feel. There would be pleasure in snatching a whip from the 
hands of these savages and giving them a dose of their own 
medicine. 

General Halleck advanced with extreme caution. He built 
four lines of breastworks, each line nearly ten miles long, so 
that if driven from one he could fall back to another. He sunk 
deep wells for water, he was preparing to be besieged instead 
of opening a siege. 

He doubted all the reports of his scouts, — disbelieved the 
stories of negroes who came to him, — issued Order No. 57, 
that all " unauthorized persons " in his lines should be sent 
out, especially fugitive slaves, — threw up redoubts, dragged 
his heavy siege-guns through the mud from the Landing, 
— '- planted them behind sodded earthworks, erected bomb- 
proof magazines, — issued his final orders to his army of an 
hundred thousand men, — opened fire from his heavy guns, — 
threw forward his skirmishers, and found — a deserted town ! 

Joining the fleet upon the Mississippi once more on the 3d 
of June, I found Commodore (now Admiral) Davis in com- 
mand. Admiral Foote having been relieved at his own request. 
His wound was painful, and he was so debilitated that he was 
unable to discharge his duties. The idea was generally enter- 
tained that the Rebels had evacuated Fort Pillow. The evacu- 
ation of Corinth was the basis for expectation of such an event. 
Fires were seen over the point on the bluffs and beyond, toward 
Randolph. Of course no one could say what was burning, but 
from the past conduct of Rebels, it was reasonable to suppose 
that the evacuation had taken place, inasmuch as there was an 



100 



FOUR YEARS OF nOHTING. 



[April, 



ominous silence of Rebel batteries. But they suddenly waked 
up. Ascending to tlie pilot-house of the steamer, I could see 
handfuls of white cloud above and beyond the dense foliage 
of the forest. Then there came a dull, heavy roar, — boom — 
boom — boom, — and the nearer explosion of the shells which 
burst in the air above our gunboats. Not evacuated ! They 
were there lively as ever. 

This sudden and unexpected demonstration aroused Cap- 
tain Maynadier, and right merrily answered the mortars till 
noon. Then there was a respite, while the mortar crews sat 
down beneath the dark green foliage of the forest, sheltered 
from the burning sun, and ate their rations, and rested the 
while. 

Seven or eight miles below Craighead Point is Lanier's plan- 
tation. The proprietor being a Secessionist, burned his cotton, 
but for some cause he had lost faith, or pretended to lose faith, 
in the Confederacy, and desired to be permitted to return to 
his comfortable home, there to remain unmolested. He sent a 
note to Colonel Fitch, commanding the land forces, soliciting 
an interview. His request was granted, and he so ingratiated 
himself into Colonel Fitch's good feeling that he became again 
an occupant of his homestead. 

Subsequently it was ascertained that he was supplying the 
Rebel fleet with ice, spring chickens, garden vegetables, &c. 
It was decided to spring a trap upon the gentlemen of the 
Southern navy. A small party was sent out by Colonel Fitch, 
which reached the locality undiscovered. After a few minutes' 
reconnoissance, eight men wore discovered helping themselves 
to ice in Mr. Lanier's ice-cellar. They were surprised. One 
resisted, • but was shot, and the rest, after a short parleying, 
surrendered. They were brought to the Benton, but were very 
uncommunicative and sour. 

The loss of a lieutenant and seven men was not well relished 
at Fort Pillow. Soon after noon the guns on the bluff com- 
menced a vigorous but random fire, as if ammunition cost 
nothing, and it were mere pastime to burn powder and hurl 
shell over the point at our fleet. It was very pleasant to 
see the round shot plump into the water all around our gun- 
boats, with an occasional shell puffing into cloud overhead, and 



1862.] PITTSBUEG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 101 

raining fragments of iron into the river, — for with such ran- 
dom firing, there was but little danger of being hit. 

The day had been hot and sultry, but just before nightfall a 
huge bank of clouds rolled up in the western horizon, and burst 
with the fury of a tornado upon the fleet. Some of the trans- 
ports dragged their anchors before the gale, but all kept up 
steam ; they were not long in making head against the breeze. 
There was but little rain, but a dense cloud of dust was whirled 
up from the sandbars. 

I was surprised to see, when the storm was at its height, two 
of our rams steam rapidly down to the point and turn their 
prows towards the Rebel batteries. They disappeared in the 
whirling dust-cloud, vanishing from sight like ships at sea when 
night comes on. They steamed swiftly down the stream and 
turned Craighead Point. 

Their mission, at such a moment, was to take advantage of 
the storm, — of the enveloping dust-cloud, — to ascertain what 
the Rebels were doing. We could hear the sudden waking up 
of heavy guns, — those that had spoken to us in the past, — 
just as, in high party times, great orators hold forth the night 
before election. The rams were discovered, and at once the 
batteries were in a blaze. Then they quietly steamed across 
the bend, in face of the batteries, turned their prows up stream, 
and appeared in sight once more. Onward rolled the ^ cloud, 
and the Rebel cannon belched and thundered, firing shot at 
random into the river. Bang — bang — bang, — two or three 
at a time, — roared the guns. It was amusing, laughable, to 
see the rams returning, and hear the uproar below. 

The dust-cloud, with its fine, misty rain, rolled away. The 
sun shone once more, and bridged the Mississippi with a gor- 
geous rainbow. While admiring it, a Rebel gunboat poked 
her nose around the point. Then, after a little hesitancy, her 
entire body, to see what we were up to. She was a black craft, 
bearing the flag of the Confederacy. Seeing how far ofi" 
we were, she steamed boldly past the point, up stream far 
enough to get a sight of the entire Federal fleet ; turned 
slowly, placed her head downward, to be ready for a quick 
run home, if need be ; then turned her paddles against the 
current, and surveyed us leisurely. The Mound City and 



102 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

Cairo being nearest, opened fire upon the craft. A signal was 
run up from the Benton, and immediately from the chimneys 
of the entire fleet rose heavy columns of blackest smoke, which 
mingled with the white puffs of steam, and rolled away into 
the blackness of the receding storm. The sun had gone 
down. 

Unheeding the shot falling close at her bows, or whistling 
over her decks, the steamer took her own time and slowly de- 
scended the stream and disappeared beyond the jutting head- 
land. 

At sunset on the 4th of June, the Rebel batteries opened a 
fierce and sudden fire upon the gunboats. Then there came 
heavy explosions, rising columns of smoke, faint and white at 
first, but increasing in volume and blackness. Another, — a 
third, a fourth, — expanding into one broad column, all along 
the height occupied by the Rebel batteries. Daylight was 
fading away, the lurid flames filled the southern sky, and a 
heaving, surging bank of smoke and flame laid along the tree- 
tops of the intervening forest. Occasionally there were flashes 
and faint explosions, and sudden pufls of smoke, spreading out 
like flakes of cotton or fleeces of whitest wool. This was all we 
could see. We were ignorant of what was feeding the flames, 
whether steamers or bales of cotton, or barracks or tents or 
houses, but were sure that it was a burning of that which had 
cost a pile of Confederate notes. After taking possession of 
the works in the morning, the fleet pursued the retreating 
Rebels down the river. 

It was dark when we came to anchor four miles above the 
city of Memphis on the 5th of June. 

" I think that we shall have a lively time in the morning," 
said the Admiral. My own quarters were on board of the J. 
H. Dickey, which lay a mile up stream. I was astir before 
daylight on the 6th. The air was clear, — the sky without a 
cloud. The stars were fading in the west, and the columns 
of light were rising in the east. The gunboats — five of 
them — were in a line across the stream, with the steam 
escaping from their pipes. The city was in full view. People 
were gathering upon the banks gazing upon the fleet. A dark 
column of smoke rose from above the green foliage of the 



1862.] PITTSBURG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 103 

forest opposite the city, but whether produced by burning 
buildings or by the Rebel fleet, was wholly a matter of con- 
jecture. 

The tugboat Jessie Benton, tender to the Admiral, came up 
to the advance boat, which was lying by our side. 

" The Admiral thinks that the Rebel fleet is below the city, 
and that we are to have a fight. You can go down if you want 
to," said the captain. 

I was on board in an instant, leaving the other gentlemen of 
the press asleep in their state-room. The soldiers were heav- 
ing the anchors as we approached the fleet, shouting in chorus, 
" Yeave ho ! yeave ho ! " The drummer-boys were beating to 
quarters, the marines were mustering, officers and sailors all 
were busy. 

The Admiral was standing on the upper deck with Captain 
Phelps, commanding the Benton, by his side. The Admiral is 
a tall, well-proportioned man, about fifty years old, with gray 
hair and blue eyes. He is a perfect gentleman, — kind, cour- 
teous, and affable, not only to his officers, but to the crews. 
Captain Phelps is shorter, and smaller in stature. His features 
are sharply cut. He stands erect, looks upon the preparations 
with keen eyes, giving orders with precision and promptness. 
The Benton in a few moments is ready for action, so quickly 
are his orders executed. 

" Drop down toward the city, sir, and see if you can dis- 
cover the Rebel fleet," is the word of the Admiral to our 
captain. 

We pass through the fleet, and move slowly down stream, 
followed by the Benton and Carondelet, which drift with the 
current. 

The sun was beginning to gild the spires of the city, and 
its slant rays came streaming over the waters into our faces. 
Men, women, and children were gathering upon the levee, on 
foot, on horseback, and in carriages. The crowd became more 
dense. Were they assembling to welcome us ? Should we 
steam down to them, and ask them what they thought of the 
Rebellion ? The Rebel flag was flying from the cupola of the 
court-house, and from a tall flagstaff on the levee. I remem- 
bered that on the 6th of May, thirteen months before, on the 



104 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Juiie, 

evening after the secession of the State, the people had torn 
down the stars and stripes, borne them out to the suburbs of 
the city, dug a grave, and buried the flag, trampling it in the 
mire ! 

Suddenly a Rebel gunboat steamed out into the stream, from 
the shelter of the Arkansas woods ; — another, — another, — 
till eight had ranged themselves in two lines of battle. " Helm 
aport ! " shouted our captain to the pilot, and we were rushing 
up stream again. The Admiral was not quite ready for action, 
and the Benton and Carondelet returned to their original 
position. 

The appearance of the Rebel fleet, — the orderly formation 
of the battle line, — looked like work. The affair of the 10th 
of May, when the Rebel gunboats stole round Craighead Point 
above Fort Pillow, and sunk the Cincinnati, was sufficiently 
spirited to warrant the supposition that an engagement would 
be desperate. Several of the Rebel boats were fitted out at 
Memphis, and were manned by the old rivermen of that city, 
who would fight with great bravery under the eyes of their 
fellow-citizens, their wives and sweethearts. 

" Let the sailors have breakfast," said the Admiral, who be- 
lieved in fighting on a full stomach. I took mine on deck, — a 
cup of coffee, hard-tack, and a slice of salt junk, — for the move- 
ments in front of the city were too interesting to be lost sight 
of. The Little Rebel, the flag-ship of Commodore Montgom- 
ery, was passing from boat to boat. Witli my glass I could see 
the officers of the vessels. Montgomery was issuing his final 
orders. 

Suddenly the Rebel fleet began to move up stream. A flag 
went up to the head of the Benton's flagstaff. It was the 
signal to be ready for action. Sailors dropped their plates, 
knives and forks, and sprang to their guns. The Benton was 
nearest the Tennessee shore, then the Carondelet, the St. Louis, 
Louisville, and Cairo. Our own little tug was close by tlie 
flag-ship, keeping its place in the stream by the slow working 
of its engine. 

The Rebel fleet was composed of the Van Dorn, General 
Price, General Bragg, Jeff Thompson, General Lovell, Gen- 
eral Beauregard, Sumter, and Little Rebel, — all gunboats 



1862.] PITTSBURG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 105 

and all rams, built expressly with a view of butting our fleet 
out of existence. The Beauregard was nearest the shore, next 
the Little Rebel, then the General Price, next the General 
Bragg and the General Beauregard, which composed the front 
line. Immediately in rear was the General Lovell, near the 
Memphis shore, her position being directly in front of the city 
wharf boat ; next the Van Dorn, then the Jeff Thompson, and 
lastly the Sumter. 

How strange, peculiar, and indescribable are one's feelings 
when going into battle ! There is a light-heartedness, — a 
quickening of all the springs of life. There is thrill in every 
nerve, — an exhilaration of spirit, — a tension of every fibre. 
You see every movement, hear every sound, and think not 
only of what is before you, but of home, of the loved ones 
there, — of the possibility that you may never behold them 
again. Some men review their lives, and ask themselves if 
they have left anything undone which ought to have been 
done, — if their lives have been complete. 

The Little Rebel was opposite the Benton. There was a 
flash, — a puff of smoke from her side, — a screaming of some- 
thing unseen in the air over my head, — a frightful sound. 
The shot fell far in our rear. Another puff from the Beaure- 
gard, and the shot fell near the Benton. A third came from 
the General Price, aimed at the Carondelet, passed very near 
her larboard ports, and almost took our own boat in the bow. 
My fear was all gone. I was in the fight. There was no pos- 
sibility of escaping from it. Wherever the boat went I must 
go. I should be just as safe to keep cool as to be excited. 
Besides, it was a new experience, — a new sight, — a grand 
exhibition. Interest, curiosity, and reason mastered fear. I 
sat down in an arm-chair on the deck beside the pilot-house, 
and made rapid notes of all that I saw. I transcribe them : — 

5.40 A. M. Cairo opens with a stern gun, — shot strikes close 
under hull of Little Rebel. Our boats' bows up stream. Rebels 
advancing slowly. Bang — bang — bang — bang from each of 
the vessels. A whole broadside from Cairo. Another from 
Louisville. Air full of strange noises. Shells burst overhead. 
Pieces raining all round us. Columns of water tossed up. 
Both fleets enveloped in smoke. Very little wind. Splinters 



106 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Juiie, 

thrown out from General Price. Can see a shot-hole with my 
glass. Rebel fleet half-mile distant. Comes to a stand still. 
6.00. Queen of the West cutting loose from shore. Monarch 
also. Great black clouds of smoke rolling up from their stacks. 
Steam hissing from their pipes. Commodore EUet on the 
Queen. Stands beside the pilot-house. Sliarpshooters look- 
ing from looj>lioles. Queen wheels out into stream. Passes 
between Benton and Carondelet. Are near enough to say 
good morning to Commodore Ellet and wish him success. 
Monarch following Queen, passing between Cairo and St. 
Louis. G.25. Rebels moving down stream. 6.35. Signal 
from Benton to round to and come to close quarters. Queen 
surging ahead under full speed. Ploughs a wide furrow. Aim- 
ing for Beauregard. Rebel fleet all opening on her. Shot 
crash through her. Exciting scene. Sharpshooters at work. 
Beauregard puts her helm down. Sheers off. Queen rushes 
by. Has missed her aim. Coming round in a curve. Strikes 
the General Price. Tremendous crash. Men jumping into 
water. Beauregard falling upon Queen of the West. Another 
crash. Monarch close at hand. Smashes into Beauregard. 
Cracking of rifles and muskets. Queen of the West sinking. 
Monarch throwing out a warp. Towing her ashore. Benton 
close upon the General Lovell. Shot strikes Lovell in bow. 
Rips from stem to stern. Water full of timber and fragments. 
Lovell sinking. Man on deck. Left arm shattered, crying 
help ! help ! help ! Commotion on shore. Lovell goes down 
with a lurch. River full of poor wretches struggling for life. 
Throwing up their arms. Stream sweeps them away. Little 
Rebel fleeing to Arkansas shore. The Jeff Thompson on fire. 
7.05. Rebel fleet broken. Their guns all silent. Beauregard 
sinking. We run alongside. Rebel officers lay shattered. 
Sides of vessel spotted with blood. Pool of blood on deck. 
Crew fled. Taken off by Little Rebel. Help lift wounded Rebel 
officer on our boat. Thanked us, and said, " You are kinder 
than my own comrades, for one of them was mean enough to 
steal my watch and pick my pocket." Little Rebel run ashore. 
Crew fleeing into woods. Cairo gives them parting broadside. 
Rebels crawling up the bank dripping with water. 7.10. Boats 
of Benton and Carondelet picking up the wretches. Van 



1862.] PITTSBURG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, AND MEMPHIS. 107 

Dorn escaping down stream. 7.25. Fight over. Van Dorn 
out of sight. Last gun fired. Jefif Thompson on fire in every 
part. Grand explosion. Whole interior of boat lifted five hun- 
dred feet high. Flames. Volumes of smoke. Bursting 
shells. Timbers, planks, fragments, raining all around us. 

It was a complete annihilation of the Rebel fleet. Not a 
man was lost on our guuboats, and Commodore Ellet was the 
only one wounded. 

The Rebel fleet began the action in good style, but main- 
tained the line of battle a few minutes only. The appearance 
of the rams threw them into disorder. On the other hand, the 
line of battle taken by Commodore Davis was preserved to tlie 
end. Everything was as systematic and orderly as in a well- 
regulated household. The thought occurred, as I saw the 
steady onward movement of the fleet, which, after once start- 
ing to close in with the Rebels, did not for an instant slacken 
speed, that he was clearing the river of all Rebel obstructions 
with the same ease that a housewife sweeps dirt through a 
doorway. His orders were few. The main thing was to get 
to close quarters. 

Embracing an early opportunity to reach the shore, I min- 
gled freely with the crowd, to see how the thing was relished 
and to study the feelings of the people. Some looked exceed- 
ingly sour ; some disconsolate ; a few were defiant ; many 
of the people were evidently good-natured, but deeply hu- 
miliated. A gentleman, resident of the city, informed me that 
he did not think the people cared anything about the Union, 
or had any desire to return to it, but they had an intense 
hatred of the tyranny to which they had been subjected, 
and were ready to welcome anything which would relieve 
them. 

The Avalanche of that morning, hardly issued when the con- 
flict began, said : — 

" There was not a little excitement about the levee last night, occa- 
sioned by an officer coming down in a skiff announcing that three of 
the Federal gunboats were in the ' shute ' above the Island. The sig- 
nals and movements of the boats seemed to confirm the report, but we 
have no idea that it was true. 

" Yesterday was quite lively. All reports about Fort Pillow were 



108 • FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

listened to with interest, and they were not a few. By noon it was known 
that the fort was evacuated, and there was not a httle excitement in 
consequence. Nearly all the stores were closed, and those that were 
open, with few exceptions, were rather indisposed to sell. Even a spool 
of cotton could not be had yesterday in stores wliich the day before luid 
plenty and to spare. Besides the soldiers from Fort Pillow a fleet 
made us a visit which attracted much attention and formed the subject 
of general conversation. All seemed to regret what had been done and 
wished it were otherwise. So prevailing was the excitement that the 
common mode of salutation on Main Street was, ' When do you think 
the Federals will be here ? ' Each one made arrangements according 
to the tenor of the reply. Many persons were packing up to leave. 

" In a word, all who could began to consider anxiously the question 
whether to go or stay. There was much running about on the streets, 
and evidently more or less excitement on every countenance. Some 
took matters coolly, and still believe that the Federals will never go to 
Memphis by river. All obstructions to their progress have not been 
removed and probably will not be. In fact, the prospect is very good 
for a grand naval engagement, which shall eclipse anything ever seen 
before. There are many who would like the engagement to occur, who 
do not much relish the prospect of its occurring very near the city. 
They think deeper water and scope and vei'ge enough for such an en- 
counter may be found farther up the river. All, however, are rejoiced 
that Memphis will not fall till conclusions are first tried on water and 
at the cannon's mouth." 

The " conclusions " had been tried and the people had seen 
their fleet unceremoniously knocked to pieces. 

There were thousands of negroes on the levee, interested 
spectators of the scene. I asked one athletic man what he 
thought of it ? "0 massa, I tinks a good deal of it. Uncle 
Abe's boats mighty powerful. Dey go through our boats jus 
like dey was eggshells." Another one standing by at once be- 
came interested in the conversation. Said he, " Captain Jeff 
Thompson, he cotch it dis time ! He ; hi ! how de balls did 
whiz ! " There was an unmistakable sign of pleasure on the 
countenances of the colored population. 

In fifteen minutes after the occupation of the city, enter- 
prising news-boys accompanying the fleet were crying, " Here 's 
the New York Herald ! Times and Tribune ! Chicago and St. 
Louis papers ! " 



1862,] PITTSBURG LANDING, FORT PILLOW, ANI? MEMPHIS. 109 

How wonderfully had the upper Mississippi been repossessed ! 
One by one the Rebel obstructions had been removed. How 
often had we been told that they were impregnable ! How 
often that the gunboats would be destroyed ! How often that 
never would the river be opened till the Confederacy was a 
recognized independent power! One short year and their 
labors, — the ditch-digging, the cannon-casting, boat-building, 
their braggadocio, had come to naught. 

The part taken by Commodore Ellet was glorious. He was 
a brave, gallant, dashing officer, the son of a noble mother, 
who lived in Philadelphia. Mr. Stuart, President of the Chris 
tian Commission, relates that later in the war he called to see 
her, at her request, to receive a large donation. He found a 
lady eighty-four years of age. A grandson had been killed in 
battle, the body had been brought home, and was lying in the 
house. Said Mrs. Ellet : " I have given my two sons. Com- 
modore Ellet and General Ellet, and four o;randchildren to my 
country. I don't regret this gift. If I had twenty sons I would 
give them all, for the country must be preserved. And if I 
was twenty years younger, I would go and fight myself to the 
last ! " 



110 . FOUR TEARS OF FIGHTING. [AugUSt) 



CHAPTER VIII. 

INVASION OF MARYLAND. 

Great events were transpiring in Virginia. Tlie magnifi- 
cent army which passed down the Potomac in March, which 
had thrown up the tremendous fortifications at Yorktown, 
which had fouglit at Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Gaines's Mills, 
Savage Station, Glendale, and Malvern, was once more at 
Washington. Manassas was a bloody plain. Pope had been 
defeated, sacrificed by Fitz John Porter. Day after day the 
booming of cannon had been heard in Washington, l)orne by 
the breezes along the wooded valley of the Potomac ; fiir away 
at first, then nearer at Chantilly and Fairfax Court-House. 
Then came the stream of fugitives, and broken, disliearteued 
ranks back to Arlington. The streets of Washington were 
thick with hungry, war-worn men. Long lines of ambulances 
wended into the city, with wounded for the hospitals, already 
overcrowded. The soldiers had pitiful tales to tell of the 
scenes of the Peninsula, and of the gory field of Manassas, — 
how near they came to victory, — how Hooker and Heintzel- 
man rolled back the lines of Stonewall Jackson, — how Fitz 
John Porter lingered within an hour's march of the conflict, 
tardily coming into line, and moving away when lightly pressed 
by the enemy. There were curses loud and deep breathed 
against Porter, Pope, and McClellan. The partisans of Porter 
and McClellan called Pope a braggadocio, while the soldiers 
who had fought with obstinacy, who had doubled up Jackson 
in the first day's battle, retorted that McClellan was a coward, 
who, through all the engagements on the Peninsida took good 
care to be out of the reach of hostile bullets or cannon shot. 
The cause of the Union was gloomy. Burnside had been 
hurried up from North Carolina to aid in repelling the invad- 
er. The sun shone peacefully through the August days, — 
summer passed into autumn, 



1862.] INVASION OF MARYLAND. Ill 

" And calm and patient Nature kept 
Her ancient promise well, 
Though o'er her bloom and greenness swept 
The battle's breath of hell." 

Adversity is a test of faith. In those darkest hours there 
•was no faltering of hope. The heart of the nation was serene. 
The people believed that God would give them the victory. 
The soldiers believed it. Those who were passing away from 
earth, who with quickened sight beheld the events of the hour 
in the light of eternity, trusted that Providence would give 
the victory to their companions in arms. 

Colonel Broadhead, of Michigan, lying upon the battle-field 
of Manassas, with the shadow of death stealing over him, wrote 
a most touching farewell letter to his wife, in which he ex- 
pressed his convictions as to who was responsible for the defeat. 

" My dear Wife : — 

" I write to you mortally wounded, from the battle-field. We 
have again been defeated, and ere this reaches you your children will 
be fatherless. Before I die let rae implore that in some way it may 

be stated that General has been outwitted, and that is a 

traitor. Had they done their duty as I did mine, and had led as I did, 
the dear old flag had waved in triumph. I wrote to you yesterday 
morning. To-day is Sunday, and to-day I sink to the green couch of 
our final rest. I have fought well, my darling ; and I was shot in the 
endeavor to rally our broken battalions. I could have escaped, but 
would not until all our hope was gone, and was shot, — about the only 
one of our forces left on the field. Our cause is just, and our gener- 
als, — not the enemy's, — have defeated us. In God's good time he 
will give us the victory. 

" And now, good by, wife and children. Bring them up — I know 
you will — in the fear of God and love for the Saviour. But for you 
and the dear ones dependent, I should die happy. I know the blow 
will fall with crushing weight on you. Trust in Him who gave manna 
in the wilderness. 

" Dr. North is with me. It is now after midnight, and I have spent 
most of the night in sending messages to you. Two bullets have gone 
through my chest, and directly through my lungs. I suffer little now, 
but at first the pain was acute. I have won the soldier's name, and 
am ready to meet now, as I must, the soldier's fate. I hope thai from 
heaven I may see the glorious old flag wave again over the undivided 
country I have loved so well. 

" Farewell, wife and friends, we shall meet again." 



112 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [AugUSt, 

The military authorities were often iiidehtcd to newspaper 
correspondents for intelHgence concerning the movements of 
the Rebels. One of the most indefatigable of the corps was 
Mr. U. H. Painter, of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He was at 
Bristow Station when Stuai-t made his first appearance in 
Pope's rear, capturing the baggage of that officer. Mr. Paint- 
er was taken prisoner, but, true to his profession, kept his eyes 
and ears open, listening to all that was said Ijy Stuart and his 
subordinate officers. Being in citizen's dress, he managed to 
slip through the guard, but not till after he had obtained im- 
portant information relative to the movements of the enemy. 
Reaching Washington, he at once sent an attach^ of the paper 
up the Potomac to Point of Rocks, and informed the govern- 
ment that the Rebels were intending to invade Maryland. No 
credence was given to his assertion ; the government believed 
that Washington was the point aimed at. The Rebels made 
their appearance at Point of Rocks, the messenger on watch 
gave Mr. Painter information by telegraph that Stuart was 
crossing. That gentleman informed the government of the 
fact, and forwarded a despatch to his paper. The Washington 
papers in the afternoon contained semi-official denials of the 
despatch to the Inquirer. But information from the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad Company that the Rebels had possession of 
the road at Point of Rocks could not be disputed. Even then 
the government was slow to believe that the Rebels seriously 
intended a movement upon Maryland. 

General Lee was flushed with success. He had reason to 
think well of himself and of his troops. He had raised the 
siege of Richmond, transferred the war to the vicinity of Wash- 
ington, had defeated Pope on the old battle-ground of Manassas, 
and driven the Union forces into the defences of the capital. 
The troops believed that they could accomplish anything, — 
overcome all obstacles, — sweep away the Union army, and 
march to Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York ; and yet Lee 
had made a miscalculation of the power of endurance on the 
part of his troops, and the first invasion of the North failed, 
not only because of the courage and tenacity of the Union 
soldiers at Antietam, but also because the Rebel army had lost 
much of its aggressive power through hard marching, constant 



1862.] INVASION OF MARYLAND. 113 

fighting, and want of food. Jackson had so worn down his 
troops that in the first day's fight at Manassas he was defeated 
by Hooker and Heintzelman, and had it not been for the timely 
arrival of Longstreet, would have been driven from the field. 
In the second day's fight he could only hold his own, while 
Longstreet, meeting with little opposition, was able to turn 
Pope's left flank, and win the victory. 

Lee entered Maryland as a liberator, believing that the peo- 
ple would rise en masse to welcome him ; but he was greatly 
mistaken. 

Taking the train from Philadelphia, I went to Harrisburg, 
Lancaster, and York in Pennsylvania, and thence into western 
Maryland. Everywhere the people were arming. All the able- 
bodied men were drilling. All labor was at a stand-still. The 
fires of the founderies went out ; the farmers left their uncut 
grain in the field. Men worth millions of dollars were in the 
ranks as privates. Members of Congress, professors of colle- 
ges with their classes, iron-masters with their workmen, min- 
isters and the able-bodied men of their congregations, were 
hastening to the rendezvous. The State Capitol grounds were 
swarming with men, receiving arms and ammunition. It was 
a glorious exhibition of patriotism ; yet I could but think that 
they would offer a feeble resistance in the open field to well- 
drilled troops. At Bunker Hill raw militia stood the fire of 
British veterans ; but such instances of pluck are rare in 
history. 

Going up the Cumberland Valley I reached Greencastle on 
the 14th of September, ten miles from Hagerstown. I could 
hear a dull and heavy booming of cannon to the south, in the 
direction of South Mountain ; but the Rebels were at Hagers- 
town, and had made a dash almost up to Greencastle. The 
only troops in the place were a few companies watching the 
border, and momentarily expecting the Rebels to appear. Citi- 
zens of Maryland, some from Virginia, Union men, were there, 
ready to run farther North on the slightest alarm. 

The little village was suddenly excited by the cry, " They 
are coming ! " " They are coming ! " It was not a body of 
Rebels, however, but the Union cavalry, which had cut their 
way out from Harper's Ferry in the night before the pusillani- 



114 FOUR YEARS OF nGHTING. [Sept. 

mous surrender of Colonel Miles. They crossed the pontoon 
bridge, moved up the Potomac, through wood-paths and by- 
ways, twice coming in contact with the Rebel pickets, and 
falling in with Longstreet's ammunition trains between Hagers- 
town and Williamsport, consisting of one hundred wagons, 
which were captured. Many of the teamsters were slaves, 
who were very glad to see the Yankees. They were contented 
under their capture. 

" "Were you not frightened when you saw the Yankees ? " I 
asked of one. 

" Not de leastest bit, massa. I was glad to see 'em. Ye see, 
we all wanted to get Norf. De captain of de guard, he tell 
me to whip up my horses and get away, but I done cut for de 
woods right towards de Norf." 

He chuckled merrily over it, and said, " I 's in de service 
of de Union now." 

He was driving the horses with evident satisfaction at the 
sudden change in his fortunes. 

When John Brown woke the world from its dreaming at 
Harper's Ferry, he had an accomplice named Cook, who 
escaped and concealed himself in the mountains of Pennsyl- 
vania, but who was hunted down by Fitz Hugh Miller of 
Chambersburg. Among the Rebel prisoners was this same 
Fitz Hugh, dressed in a suit of rusty gray, with a black ostrich 
plume in his hat, sun-burned, dusty, having a hang-dog look. 
He was a captain in the Rebel service. The Dutch blood of 
the citizens, usually as calm and steady in its flow as the rivers 
of their Fatherland, came up with a rush. 

" Hang him ! Down with the traitor ! Kill him ! " they 
shouted. They rushed to seize him, but the guards kept the 
populace at bay. The excitement increased. Miller appealed 
to the guards to protect him. He was quickly hurried into 
the jail, which was strongly guarded. A great change had 
taken place in the opinions of the people. They had been in- 
different to the questions of the hour, but the Rebel raid, by 
which they had lost their horses, had taught them an excellent 
lesson. Self-interest is sometimes a stimulant to patriotism. 
They even began to look with complacency upon what John 
Brown had done. 



1862.] INVASION OF MARYLAND.. 115 

The Rebels evacuated Hagerstown on the morning of the 
16th of September, and an hour later I entered it on the first 
train, which was greeted by the people with shouts and hurrahs 
and demonstrations of joy, as if it brought emancipation from 
long bondage. Some of the citizens had manifested sympathy 
with the Rebels. Still there were groups of excited men in 
the streets, shouting, " We '11 hang the cusses. We 've spotted 
them, and if they ever come back we '11 be the death of them, 
as sure as there is a God." 

The battle of South Mountain had been fought, and the hos- 
tile armies were concentrating for a trial of strength along the 
peaceful banks of the Antietam. 

I was awakened at daylight on the morning of the 17th of 
September by the booming of cannon. It was a dull, leaden 
morning. The clouds hung low upon the mountains, and 
swept in drifts along the hillsides. The citizens of Hagerstown 
were astir, — some standing on the house-tops, listening to the 
increasing thunder of the cannonade, some in the church- 
steeples, others making haste to visit the field of battle. I 
had no horse, but finding a stable-keeper, was soon the owner 
of one. The horse-dealer was quite willing to dispose of his 
animals. " Horse-flesh is mighty onsartin these days," said 
he. " The Rebels took my best ones, and if they should come 
here again, I reckon they would clean me out." 

My first impulse was to push directly down the Sharpsburg 
turnpike and gain the rear of the Rebels, enter their lines as a 
citizen, and see the battle from their side. 

" Don't do it, sir," said a citizen. 

Upon reflection, it appeared to be good advice, and so turn- 
ing about (for I had already gone a mile or more in that direc- 
tion) I took the Boonsboro pike and rode rapidly towards the 
battle-field. Two or three miles out I came across a Rebel 
soldier, — barefoot and bareheaded, pale, sallow, worn out by 
hard marching, lying under an oak-tree by the roadside. His 
gun was by his side. He raised his head and held up his hand, 
as if to implore me not to harm him. He belonged to a Georgia 
regiment, and had dropped by the way, too feeble to keep his 
place in the ranks. He was taken care of by two citizens. 

Striking off from the turnpike in a by-path, then across 



116 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Sept. 

fields, through oak groves, directed by the roar of battle, • 
descending a steep hill, and fording the Antietam, I gained 
the battle-field in rear of the right wing, where Hooker was in 
command. Passing beyond the field hospitals, I reached the 
hill, on Poffenberg's farm. 

The fire was raging fearfully in front of Sumner ; but 
Hooker's and Mansfield's cannon were silent, cooling their 
brazen lips after the morning's fever. In tlie hollow behind 
the ridge, east of Poffenberg's house, the Pennsylvania Reserve 
Corps — what was left of them — were lying, sad, yet not dis- 
heartened. How changed from what they were a year before, 
then fifteen thousand strong ! 

" We cannot lose many more," said one, as I talked of the 
morning's action. Gibbons's brigade, of Hooker's corps, had 
crossed the turnpike, and was holding the ground in the woods 
between it and the river. 

Ascending the ridge, I came upon Battery B, Fourth Artil- 
lery, also Cooper's and Easton's Pennsylvania batteries, the 
New Hampshire Ninth and Ehode Island Fifth, — thirty pieces 
bearing on the cornfield and the wood-crowned hill, where, 
alas ! a thousand of as brave men as ever breathed were lying, 
who just before had moved to meet the enemy. 

The firing was hot and heavy a few rods south. 

The fight began with the pickets in the night, and was taken 
up by the artillery at daylight. The Rebels had concentrated 
a heavy force on their left, we on our right, because the lay 
of the land required it, the right being our strongest ground, 
and their left their weakest. The ridge behind Poffenberg's 
house was the door-post on which our fortunes hinged. Not 
so with thcni, — theirs was a double door, its hinge being in 
the woods bordering the turnpike south of the toll-house. 

Hooker gave Meade, witli the Pennsylvania Reserves, the 
right, Ricketts the left, and placed Doubleday in support in 
rear. Mansfield joined Hooker's left, but was an hour behind 
time. Sumner was slow to come into action. Hooker ad- 
vanced, drove in the Rebel pickets, found a Rebel battery on 
his extreme right, which, as soon as he came within its range, 
began to plough him with a flanking fire. Meade obliqued to 
the right, poured in a few volleys, and drove the enemy across 



1862.] INVASION OF MARYLAND. 117 

the turnpike. This was the extreme left of the enemy's line. 
Hooker crossed the turnpike a few rods north of Poffenberg's, 
marched through the fields to the ridge by the cornfield. Hav- 
ing obtained possession of the ridge east of Poffenberg's, he 
planted his batteries and opened a fierce cannonade upon the 
Rebels. 

The ground in front of Hooker was the scene of repeated 
struggles. In the afternoon the Rebels made a desperate at- 
tempt to regain what they had lost. They came down through 
the cornfield, west of the turnpike, under cover of their bat- 
teries. Hooker, Dana, Sedgwick, Hartsuff, Richardson, and 
Mansfield, all general officers, had been carried from the field 
wounded. General Howard was in command of the right 
wing. I was talking with him, when an officer dashed up and 
said, " General, the Rebels are coming down on us." 

We were in the open field, a few rods southeast of Poffen- 
berg's barn. General Howard rode forward a few steps, looked 
through the leafy branches of the oaks along the turnpike. 
We could see the dark lines of the enemy moving through the 
cornfield. " Tell the batteries to give them the heaviest fire 
possible," he said. It was spoken as deliberately as if he had 
said to his servant, " Bring me a glass of water." How 
those thirty pieces of artillery opened ! Crack ! crack ! crack ! 
and then a volley by artillery! How those gray lines wavered, 
swayed to and fro, and melted away ! 

In Poffenberg's door-yard, along the turnpike, were two noble 
horses, both killed by the same cannon-shot, smashing the head 
of one and tearing the neck of the other. The dead of the 
Pennsylvania Reserves laid under the palings of the garden 
fence. The gable of the house was torn to pieces by a shell. 
In the field in front dead men in blue and dead men in gray 
were thickly strown ; and still farther out, along the narrow 
lane which runs southwest from the house, they were as thick 
as the withered leaves in autumn. How the battle-storm howled 
through those woods, fiercer tlian the blasts of November ! It 
was a tornado which wrenched off the trunks of oaks laro-e 
enough for a ship's keelson, — riving them, splintering them 
with the force of a thunderbolt. 

If the blow which Hooker gave had been a little more power- 



118 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Sept. 

fill, — if Mansfield had been ordered in at the same instant 
with Hooker, — if Sumner had fallen upon the Rebel centre 
at the same time, — there can be but little doubt as to what 
would have been the result. But the battle of Antietam was 
fought by piecemeal. Hooker exhausted his strength before 
Mansfield came up; Mansfield was repulsed before Sumner 
came in ; while Burnside, who had the most difficult task of 
all, was censured by McClellan for not carrying the bridge 
early in the morning. Yet Franklin, who arrived at noon, 
was only partially engaged, while Porter was ordered to stand 
a silent spectator through the day. The several corps of the 
Union army were like untrained teams of horses, — each pulled 
with all its strength, but no two succeeded in pulling together. 
It was not far from twelve o'clock when the arrangements 
were completed for Sumner's movement. The artillery pre- 
pared tho way for advance, by pouring in a heavy fire from 
all directions. The configuration of the ground admitted of 
this. The cornfield sloped toward the Antietam, and by care- 
ful scrutiny the Rebels could be seen lying down to avoid the 
shot and shells. It was a moment of anxious expectation to 
us who beheld the movement. 

The divisions moved past the cemetery, past Roulet's house, 
the left of French's and the right of Richardson's, joining in 
the ravine. A few rods beyond the house the Rebel skirmish- 
ers opened a galling fire. Our own advanced rapidly, drove 
them in through the nearest cornfield. They fled to the road, 
and the field beyond. 

The road is narrow, and by long usage and heavy rains, has 
become a trench, a natural rifle-pit about two and a half feet 
deep. The Rebels had thrown off the top rails of the fence in 
front, and strengthened the position by making them into 
abatti, — iimtiitmg the example set by General Stark on the 
northeastern slope of Bunker Hill, in 1775. 

The roadway was their first line ; their second was in the 
corn, five or six rods farther west. 

The Union troops advanced in front of the road, when up 
rose the first Rebel line. The fence became a line of flame and 
smoke. The cornfield beyond, on higher ground, was a sheet 
of fire. With a rush and cheer, the men in blue moved up 







I TV^ 



1862.] INVASION OF MARYLAND. 119 

to the fence, ploughed through and through by the batteries 
above, cut and gashed by the leaden hail, thrust the muzzles of 
their guns into the faces of the Rebels and fired. 

The first Rebel line was nearly annihilated, and the dead 
lying beneath the tasselled corn were almost as many as the 
golden ears upon the stalks. Visiting the spot when the con- 
test was over, I judged ft'om a little counting that a thousand 
of the enemy's dead were in the road and the adjoining field. 
A shell had thrown seven into one heap, — some on their 
faces, some on their backs, — fallen as a handful of straws 
would fall when dropped upon the ground. But not they alone 
suffered. The bloody tide which had surged through all the 
morning between the ridges above, along the right, had flowed 
over the hill at this noontide hour. The yellow soil became 
crimson ; the russet corn-leaves turned to red, as if autumn 
had put on in a moment her richest glory. How costly ! Five 
thousand men, — I think I do not exaggerate, — wounded and 
dead, lay along that pathway and in the adjoining field ! * 

To Burnside was assigned the duty of carrying the stone 
bridge, two miles below the turnpike, and taking the batteries 
which were in position south of Sharpsburg. It was a difficult 
task. A high-banked stream, bordered by willows ; a narrow 
bridge ; a steep hill ; cleared lands, with no shelter from the 
batteries in front and on both his flanks, after he should have 
succeeded in crossing the stream. 

Burnside planted his cannon on the high hills or ridges east 
of the river, and kept them in play a long time before any 
attempt was made on the bridge by infantry. The Rebel bat- 
teries replied, and there was an incessant storm of shot and 
shell. 

The road on the eastern side winds down a ravine to the 
river, which is an hundred feet below the summit of the hills 
where his artillery was posted. It is a narrow path, with a 
natural embankment on the right hand, covered with oaks. 



* The accompanying illustration is an accurate representation drawn by Mr. 
Waud, who witnessed the battle. The battery in the foreground* is north of the 
house of Mr. Eoulet, near the centre of Sumner's line. French's and Richard- 
son's divisions are seen in the middle of the picture, and the Rebels under D. H. 
Hill and Longstreet beyond. 



120 FOUR YEARS OF nOHTING. [Sept. 

There is a piece of bottom land eight or ten rods wide on the 
eastern side of the river. The bridge is narrow and about 
seventy-five feet long. After crossing the stream the road 
runs diagonally up the bank toward the north. On the west- 
ern side are willows fringing the stream, their graceful 
branches bending down to the water, and covering the oppo- 
site shore. The bank is very abrupt. A small force on either 
side can hold the bridge against a large body of men. 

The bridge was carried in the afternoon by a desperate 
charge. I was watching operations in the centre at the time, 
and saw only the smoke of the contest on the left, and heard 
its deafening roar. Riding down there later in the day, I wit- 
nessed the last attack. Both parties had put on new \igor at 
the sunset hour. The fire kindled along the line. Far upon 
the right was the smoke of thirty cannon, rising in a white 
sulphurous cloud. The woods opposite, where the Rebel bat- 
teries were, flamed like a furnace. A little nearer Sumner's 
artillery was thundering and hurling its bolts into the Rebels 
by the Dunke church. Ayers's battery was pouring a deadly 
fire mto the cornfield, west of Roulet's, where the Rebel line 
was lying under cover. Above, on the highest hillock, a half- 
mile from Sharpsburg, a heavy Rebel battery boomed defiance. 
Richardson's artillery, immediately in front, was sending shells 
upon the hill and into Sharpsburg, where hay-stacks, houses 
and barns were burning, rolling up tall pillars of cloud and 
flame to heaven. At our left Burnside's heavy guns worked 
mightily, answered by the opposing batteries. The musketry 
had ceased, save a few volleys rolling from beyond the willows 
in the valley, and a little dripping, like rain-drops after a 
shower. It was a continuous roll of thunder. The sun went 
down, reddened in the smoky haze. 

After the retreat of Lee, I rode over the ground occupied 
by the Rebels, and surveyed the field from every point. The 
dead were thickly strewn. A Rebel battery had occupied the 
ground around the Dunke church, a small brick building on 
the turnpike, a mile south of Poffenberg's. At its door-step 
laid a major,* a captain, and eleven men, all dead. A wounded 
horse, unable to lie down, was standing near a dismantled cais- 
son. Almost human was the beseeching look of the dumb 



1862.] INVASION OF MARYLAND. 121 

beast! Near by was a soldier lying with his eyes fixed on 
heaven. He had died calmly. His pocket Bible was open 
upon his breast. Taking it up my eye fell upon the words : 
" Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I 
will fear no evil, for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff, 
they comfort me." All the turmoil of life was over. He had 
done his duty, and had passed on to his reward.* 

Lee recrossed the Potomac without molestation from McClel- 
lan, and the two armies went into camp, as if mutually agreed 
upon having a season of rest after the hardships of the cam- 
paign. 

* Want of space compels me to give only a sketch of the battle ; but a full, cir- 
cumstantial, and detailed account of the positions and movements of the two 
armies may be found in " Following the Flag," published by Messrs. Ticknor and 
Fields of Boston. 



122 FOUR YEAES OF ncHTiNG. [October, 



CHAPTER IX. 

INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 

Simultaneous with Lee's advance into Maryland was that of 
General Bragg into Kentucky. As there were no indications 
that McClellan would follow Lee into Virginia, I hastened to 
Kentucky to observe the events transpiring in that department. 
General Buell was still in command of the Union forces. He 
had been lying quiet through the summer, occupying Chatta- 
nooga on the east, Florence on the west, and spreading his 
troops over a large territory. There were detachments at 
Nashville, McMinnville, Murfreesboro, and Mumfordville. This 
force in Tennessee was piled in the form of a pyramid, Flor- 
ence and Chattanooga being the base and Nashville the 
apex. In addition there was a force under General Morgan 
holding Cumberland Gap, a passage in the mountains at the 
extreme southwestern part of Virginia, where the Old Do- 
minion rests like the point of a ploughshare against the moun- 
tains which separate it from Kentucky. Since Daniel Boone 
passed through it, the Gap has been the great thoroughfare be- 
tween the West and East. The distance from the Gap, where 
Morgan was keeping watch and ward, to Chattanooga, is about 
one hundred and forty miles. Through this gateway the Reb- 
els resolved to enter Kentucky, replenish their stores, make 
a demonstration upon Cincinnati, capture Louisville, cut off 
Buell's supplies and communications, outflank him, destroy his 
army, transfer the war to the Ohio River, and redeem Kentucky. 
Buell was in repose, unconscious of General Bragg's inten- 
tions. 

Bragg formed his army in three columns near Knoxville, — 
one to move upon the Gap, approaching it from the west, the 
second, under Kir])y Smith, to move directly upon Lexington, 
Danville, and Frankfort, the third to capture the six thousand 
at Mumfordville, and then joining the second division at Lex- 



1862.] INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 123 

iiigton, push on in conjunction with it to Louisville. John Mor- 
gan, the commander of the Rebel cavalry, moved in advance 
and captured Morgan's supply trains on the 17th of August. 
It was the first intimation General Morgan or Buell had of the 
intentions of the Rebels. Morgan knew not what was going 
on in his rear. The Rebels prudently refrained from attacking 
him. The pass would fall into their hands when all their plans 
were ripe. Morgan held his position till the 17th of September, 
when, having exhausted his provisions, he spiked his guns, de- 
stroyed the fortifications, and all his tent equipage, and marched 
north to the Ohio River, through the mountains, reaching it 
without loss. 

The centre column of the Rebels moved upon Frankfort, 
gathering up cattle, horses, goods of all kinds, cloth, clothes, 
boots, shoes, grain, and everything which could minister to 
their comfort. They visited the wealthy farmers of the blue- 
grass region, selected the best Kentucky stock, purchased all 
the new wheat, set the flour-mills a humming, keeping the 
millers at it day and night. Never were millers so busy, each 
miller tending his grinding with a Rebel bayonet at his door, 
the glittering of which reminded him that he had a duty to 
perform to the Confederacy. 

At Frankfort, the capital of the State, they took possession 
of the state-house, inaugurated a governor, had a grand pro- 
cession, with speeches, and a banquet, and a general gala- 
day. They invited the merchants to open their stores, made 
princely purchases of goods, paying liberally in the legal cur- 
rency of the Confederacy. They sent off long lines of wagons 
toward the South laden with supplies. The Kentucky farmers 
were relieved of their negroes as well as of their horses. They 
took the negroes, saying to their masters, " Swear allegiance 
to the Confederacy and you shall be paid, but otherwise they 
shall be confiscated." 

Thousands of slaves fled across the Ohio, for fear of being 
captured. Thus the war was a double reverse acting mill, 
grinding slavery to powder in the State. For six weeks the 
Rebels had it all their own way. 

The third column moved upon Mumfordville, surprised the 
six thousand men in that place, and pushed on towards Louis- 



124 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [October, 

ville. The Rebel forces were far on their way before Buell 
awoke from his dreaming. He gathered in his divisions, and 
keeping west of Bragg, made haste to reach Louisville. If 
after taking Mumfordville Bragg had pushed on rapidly, he 
doubtless could have taken Louisville, but waiting a day, the 
golden opportunity was lost. He was evidently well pleased 
with his reception at Lexington and Frankfort. A Rebel writer 
thus describes the former : — 

" The entrance of our troops into Lexington was the occasion of the 
most inspiriting and touching scenes. Streets, windows, and gardens 
were filled with ladies and little girls with streamers of red and blue 
ribbons and flags with stars. Beautiful women seized the hard brown 
hands of our rough and ragged soldiers, and with tears and smiles 
thanked them again and again for coming into Kentucky and freeing 
them from the presence and insults of the hated and insolent Yankees. 
For hours the enthusiasm of the people was unbounded. At every comer 
of the streets baskets of provisions and buckets of water were placed 
for the refreshment of our weary soldiers, and hundreds of our men were 
presented with shoes and hats and coats and tobacco by the grateful 
people. Private residences were turned for the time into public houses 
of entertainment, free to all who could be persuaded to go and eat. 
But if the reception of the infantry was enthusiastic, the tears, the 
smiles, and shouts and cheers of wild delight which greeted General 
John Morgan's cavalry, as they came dashing through the streets 
amidst clouds of dust, was without a parallel. The wildest joy ruled 
the hours. The bells of the city pealed forth their joyous welcome, 
whilst the waving of thousands of white handkerchiefs and tiny con- 
federate flags attested the gladness and delight of every heart." * 

There were also gay times in Frankfort. Mr. Harris was in- 
augurated Provisional Governor of the State by special order 
of General Bragg, which read as follows : — 

" Head-quarteks Army of Iventuckt, Lexington, October 2, 1862. 

" Installation of the Provisional Governor at Frankfort on Saturday, 
October 4th, at 12 M. Major-General Smith is charged with the man- 
agement of the military escort, guard, and salute. 

" The Governor will be escorted from his quarters by a squadron of 
cavalry, and accompanied by the Commander of the Confederate State 
forces, Major-General Buckner, Brigadier-General Preston, and their 

* Pollard's Second Year of the War, p. 152. 



1862.] INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 125 

respective staiFs. The Commanding General will present the Governor 
to the people, and transfer in behalf of the Confederate States the 
civil orders of the State, and public records and property. 
" By order. 

"Braxton Bragg, General Commanding." 

A host of generals graced the occasion, — Bragg, Kirby 
Smith, Buckner, Stevenson, Claiborne, Heath, Churchill, Pres- 
ton Smith, and William Preston. The Capital Hotel, where 
the politics of the country were wont to be discussed by Henry 
Clay, Crittenden, and other great lights of former days, was 
crowded by the chivalry of the South. The landlord found his 
larder depleting, his liquors disappearing, but he had baskets 
full of Confederate notes, in exchange for food, fire, and lodg- 
ing, liquors and cigars. The ladies kept open house, and 
invited the Rebel officers to tea on the auspicious occasion. 

Meanwhile General Dumont's division of Union troops, and 
General Sill's division were approaching Frankfort from the 
north. General Bragg was dining with the accomplished Mrs. 
Preston, when a messenger dashed into town with the intelli- 
gence of the advance of the Union troops. Governor Harris, — 
six hours a Governor, — packed his carpet-bag in great haste. 
The brilliant throng of Rebel officers mounted their horses, 
the ladies took down their miniature flags, while the citizens 
of the place prepared to change their politics. The Rebel 
force in the town consisted of two regiments of infantry and 
one of cavalry, guarding the turnpike bridge across the Ken- 
tucky river. 

The Union cavalry came thundering down the hill. It was 
in the evening ; and without halting to ascertain who or what 
they were to encounter, dashed across the bridge. The Rebels 
gave one irresolute volley and fled precipitately from the town, 
which was once more and for a finality in the hands of the 
Union men. Four days later the battle of Perryville was 
fought, and then the Rebels retired from the State with their 
booty. 

Their visit was at once a curse and a blessing, — a curse, 
because of the havoc, the desolation, and pillage ; a blessing, 
because it brought Kentuckians to a sharp corner. The Pres- 
ident had just issued his Proclamation of freedom, and Ken- 



126 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [October, 

tucky slaveholders were grumbling, and were ready to shake 
hands with the Rebels. They had welcomed their Southern 
friends, who had robbed and plundered them without stint. 

There was a marked change visible in the opinions of most 
men. The high-handed outrages, the authorized thieving, the 
forcing of Confederate notes upon the people, making it treason 
to refuse them in exchange for horses, cattle, clothes, and pro- 
visions, the confiscation of negroes, the grotesque appearance 
of the Rebel soldiers, — 

" Some in rags, some in tags, 
But none in velvet gowns," — 

as reads the old nursery rhyme, dissipated the illusioii in 
which many men had indulged. Bunyan's two pilgrims, 
Christian and Faithful, met a black man clothed in white 
garments, as they journeyed over the enchanted ground, who, 
with many fair speeches, would have turned them from the 
glittering gates of the golden city ; but when the robe dropped 
from his limbs they saw that he was hideous, and that to fol- 
low him was to go back again to the city of Destruction. So 
Kentucky had seen the flatterer. The white robe had fallen ; 
he was repulsive. Ladies who wished to welcome the Rebels 
as soldiers of the chivalrous South shrank with horror from 
the filthy crowd. The enchantment was ended. Loyalty was 
taking root. 

Yet there were many old planters, partisans of an effete 
party, — once Democratic in principle, — who clung to slav- 
ery with a tenacity like that of barnacles to a worm-eaten 
hulk. The Louisville Journal condemned the Proclamation, 
giving utterance to the voice of the slaveholders, declaring 
that the Proclamation would have no binding force in that 
State ; but the soldiers hailed it with joy. They felt that 
slavery was the cause of the war, and were longing to see it 
overthrown. Bragg having left the State, many masters began 
to look up their slaves, some of whom had fled to the Union 
lines for protection. 

One wing of the army was resting at Williamstown, about 
twenty-five miles south of Cincinnati, in which was a division 
commanded by General Q. A. Gillmoro ; then a brigadier who, 



1862.] INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 127 

in common with many other officers, believed in what was 
called the " Kentucky policy." When the army began a for- 
ward movement in pursuit of Bragg, General Gillmore issued 
an order, known as General Order No. 5, which reads as fol- 
lows : — 

" All contrabands, except officers' servants, will be left behind when 
the army moves to-morrow, morning. Public transportation will in no 
case be furnished to officers' servants. 

" Commanders of regiments and detachments will see this order 
promptly enforced." 

Among the regiments of the division was the Twenty-Second 
Wisconsin, Colonel Utley, an officer who had no sympathy 
with slavery. He had a cool head and a good deal of nerve. 
He had read the Proclamation of President Lincoln, and made 
up his mind to do what was right, recognizing the President as 
his Commander-in-Chief, and not the State of Kentucky. There 
were negroes accompanying his regiment, and he did not see fit 
to turn them out. Three days later he received the following 
note : — 

"October 18, 1862. 
" Colonel : You will at once send to my head-quarters the four con- 
trabands, John, Abe, George, and Dick, known to belong to good and 
loyal citizens. They are in your regiment, or were this morning. 
" Your obedient servant, 

" Q. A. Gillmore, Brigadier- General." 

Colonel Utley, instead of sending the men, replied : — 

" Permit me to say, that I recognize your authority to command me 
in all military matters pertaining to the mihtary movements of the 
army. I do not look upon this as belonging to that department. I 
recognize no authority on the subject of deUvering up contrabands save 
that of the President of the United States. 

" You are, no doubt, conversant with that Proclamation, dated Sept. 
22, 1862, and the law of Congress on the subject. In conclusion, I 
will say, that I had nothing to do with their coming into camp, and 
shall have nothing to do with sending them out." 

The note was despatched to division head-quarters. Soon 
after an officer called upon Colonel Utley. 

" You are wanted, sir, at General Gillmore's quarters." 
Colonel Utley made his appearance before General Gillmore. 



128 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [October, 

" I sent jou an order this evening." 

" Yes, sir, and I refused to obey it." 

" I intend to be obeyed, sir. I shall settle this matter at 
once. I shall repeat the order in the morning." 

" General, to save you the trouble and folly of such a course, 
let me say that I shall not obey it." 

The Colonel departed. Morning came, but brought no order 
for the delivery of the contrabands to their former owner. 

As the regiment passed through Georgetown, a large num- 
ber of slaves belonging to citizens of that place fled from 
their masters, Und found shelter in the army. Some of the 
officers who had less nerve than Colonel Utley gave them up, 
or permitted the owners to come and take them. A Michigan 
regiment marching through the town had its lines entered by 
armed citizens, who forcibly took away their slaves. Colonel 
Utley informed the inhabitants that any attempt to take contra- 
bands from his lines would be resisted. 

" Let me say to you, gentlemen," he said to a delegation of 
the citizens, " that my men will march with loaded muskets, 
and if any attempt is made upon my regiment, I shall sweep 
your streets with fire, and close the history of Georgetown. If 
you seriously intend any such business, I advise you to remove 
the women and children." 

The regiment marched the next morning with loaded mus- 
kets. The citizens beheld their negroes sheltered and protected 
by a forest of gleaming bayonets, and wisely concluded not to 
attempt the recovery of the uncertain property. 

The day after its arrival in Nicholasville, a large, portly 
gentleman, lying back in an elegant carriage, rode up to the 
camp, and making his appearance before the Colonel, intro- 
duced himself as Judge Robertson, Chief Justice of the State 
of Kentucky. 

" I am in pursuit of one of my boys, who I understand is in 
this regiment," he said. 

" You mean one of your slaves, I presume ? " 

" Yes, sir. Here is an order from the General, which you 
will see directs that I may be permitted to enter the lines and 
get the boy," said the Judge, with great dignity. 

" I do not permit any civilian to enter my lines for any such 
purpose," said the Colonel. 



1862.] INVASION OF KENTUCKY. ' 129 

The Judge sat down, not greatly astonished, for the reputa- 
tion of the Twenty-Second Wisconsin, as an abolition regiment, 
"was well established. He began to argue the matter. He 
talked of the compromises of the Constitution, and proceeded 
to say : — 

" I was in Congress, sir, when the Missouri Compromise was 
adopted, and voted for it ; but I am opposed to slavery, and I 
once wrote an essay on the subject, favoring emancipation." 

" Well, sir, all that may be. If you did it from principle, 
it was commendable ; but your mission here to-day gives the 
lie to your professions. I don't permit negro-hunters to go 
through my regiment ; but I will see if I can find the boy, and 
if he is willing to go I will not hinder him." 

The Colonel went out and found the negro Joe, a poor, half- 
starved, undersized boy, nineteen years old. He told his story. 
He belonged to the Judge, who had let him to a brutal Irish- 
man for $ 50 a year. He had been kicked and cuffed, starved 
and whipped, till he could stand it no longer. He went to the 
Judge and complained, but had been sent back only to receive 
a worse thrashing for daring to complain. At last he took to 
the woods, lived on walnuts, green corn, and apples, sleeping 
among the corn-shucks and wheat-stacks till the army came. 
There were tears in Joe's eyes as he rehearsed his sufferings. 

The Colonel went back to the Judge. 

" Have you found him ? " 

" I have found a little yellow boy, who says that he belongs 
to a man in Lexington. Come and see him." 

" This man claims you as his property, Joe ; he says that 
you ran away and left him," said the Colonel. 

" Yes, sah, I belongs to him," said Joe, who told his story 
again in a plain, straightforward manner, showing a neck 
scarred and cut by the whip. 

" You can talk with Joe, sir, if you wish," said the Colonel. 

" Have not I always treated you well ? " the Judge asked. 

" No, massa, you has n't," was the square, plump reply. 

" How so ? " 

" When I came to you and told you I could n't stand it any 
longer, you said, ' Go back, you dog ! ' " 

" Did not I tell you that I would take you away ? " 
9 



130 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [October, 

" Yes, massa, but you never did it." 

The soldiers came round and listened. Joe saw that they 
were friends. The Judge stood speechless a moment. 

" Joe," said the Colonel, " are you willing to go home with 
your master?" 

" No, sah, I is n't." 

" Judge Robertson, I don't think you can get that boy. If 
you think you can, there he is, try it. I shall have nothing 
to do with it," said the Colonel, casting a significant glance 
around to the soldiers who had gathered about them. 

The Judge saw that he could not lay hands upon Joe. " I '11 
see whether there is any virtue in the laws of Kentucky," he 
said, with great emphasis. 

" Perhaps, Judge, it will be as well for you to leave the 
camp. Some of my men are a little excitable on the^ subject 
of slavery." 

" You are a set of nigger-stealers," said the Judge, losing 
his temper. 

"Allow me to say, Judge, that it does not become you to 
call us nigger-stealers. You talk about nigger-stealing, — you 
who live on the sweat and blood of such creatures as Joe ! 
Your dwellings, your churches, are built from the earnings of 
slaves, beaten out of them by brutal overseers. You hire little 
children out to brutes, — you clothe them in rags, — you hunt 
them with hounds, — you chain them down to toil and suffer- 
ing ! You call us thieves because we have given your Joe food 
and protection! Sir, I would rather be in the place of Joe 
than in that of his oppressor ! " was the indignant outburst 
of the Colonel. 

" Well, sir, if that is the way you men of the North feel, 
the Union never can be saved, — never ! You must give up 
our property." 

" Judge, allow me to tell you what sort of Unionism I have 
found in Kentucky. I have not seen a half-dozen wlio did not 
damn the President. You may put all the pure Unionism in 
Kentucky in one scale, and a ten-pound nigger baby in the 
other, and the Unionism will kick the beam. Allow me to say, 
further, that if the perpetuity or restoration of the Union de- 
pends upon my delivering to you with my own hands that little 



1862.] INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 131 

half-starved dwarf of a slave, the Union may be cast into hell 
with all the nations that forget God ! " 

" The President's Proclamation is unconstitutional. It has 
no bearing on Kentucky. I see that it is your deliberate inten- 
tion to set at naught the laws," said the Judge, turning away, 
and walking to General Gillmore's head-quarters. 

" You are wanted at the General's head-quarters," said an 
aid, soon after, to Colonel Utley. 

The Colonel obeyed the summons, and found there not only 
Judge Robertson, but several fine old Kentucky gentlemen ; also 
Colonel Coburn, the commander of the brigade, who agreed 
with General Gillmore in the policy then current. Colonel 
Coburn said : — 

" The policy of the commanding generals, as I understand 
it, is simply this : that persons who have lost slaves have a 
right to hunt for them anywhere in the State. If a slave gets 
inside of the lines of a regiment, the owner has a right to enter 
those lines, just as if no regiment was there, and take away the 
fugitive at his own pleasure." 

" Precisely so. The Proclamation has no force in this 
State," said the Judge. 

" I regret that I am under the necessity of differing in opin- 
ion from my commanding officers, to whom I am ready at all 
times to render strict military obedience, but (the Colonel 
raised his voice) I reverse the Kentucky policy ! I hold that the 
regiment stands precisely as though there were no slavery in 
Kentucky. We came here as free men, from a free State, at 
the call of the President to uphold a free government. We 
have nothing to do with slavery. The Twenty-Second Wis- 
consin, while I have the honor to command it, will never be 
a regiment of nigger-catchers. I will not allow civilians to 
enter my lines at pleasure ; it is unmilitary. Were I to permit 
it, I should be justly amenable to a court-martial. Were I 
to do it, spies might enter my lines at all times and depart at 
pleasure." 

There was silence. But Judge Robertson was loath to go 
away without his flesh and blood. He made one more effort. 
" Colonel, I did not come to your lines as a spy, but with 
an order from your General. Are you willing that I should 
gQ and get my boy ? " 



132 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [October, 

The Colonel reflected a moment. 

" Yes, sir, and I will remain here. I told you before that I 
should have nothing to do with it." 

" Do you think that the men will permit me to take him ? " 

" I have no orders to issue to them in the matter ; they will 
do just as they please." 

" Will you send the boy into some other regiment ? " 

This was too much for the Colonel. He could no longer re- 
strain his indignation. Looking the Judge squarely in the face, 
he vented his anger in scathing words. 

The Judge departed, and at the next session of the Court 
Colonel Utley was indicted for man-stealing ; but he has not yet 
been brought to trial. The case is postponed till the day of 
Judgment, when a righteous verdict will be rendered. 

The Judge returned to Lexington, called a public meeting, at 
which he made a speech, denouncing the Twenty-Second Wis- 
consin as an abolition regiment, and introducing resolutions 
declaring that the Union never could be restored if the laws of 
the State of Kentucky were thus set at defiance. This from 
the Judge, while his son was in the Rebel service, fighting 
against the Union. 

But the matter was not yet over. A few days later, the 
division containing the Twenty-Second Wisconsin, commanded 
by General Baird, vice Gillmore, was ordered down the river. 
It went to Louisville, followed by the slave-hunters, who were 
determined to have their negroes. 

Orders were issued to the colonels not to take any contra- 
bands on board the boats, and most of them obeyed. Colonel 
Utley issued no orders. 

A citizen called upon him and said, — 

" Colonel, you will have trouble in going through the cit_) 
unless you give up the negroes in your lines." 

The regiment was then on its march to the wharf. 

" They have taken all the negroes from the ranks of the other 
regiments, and they intend to take yours." 

The Colonel turned to his men and said, quietly, " Fix 
bayonets." 

The regiment moved on through the streets, and reached the 
Gault House, where the slaveholders had congregated. A half- 



1862.] INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 133 

dozen approached the regiment rather cautiously, but one bold- 
er than the rest sprang into the ranks and seized a negro by 
the collar. 

A dozen bayonets came down around him, some not very 
gently. He let go his hold and sprang back again quite as 
quickly as he entered the lines. 

There was a shaking of fists and muttered curses, but the reg- 
iment passed on to the landing, just as if nothing had happened. 

General Granger, who had charge of the transportation, had 
issued orders that no negro should be allowed on the boats 
without free papers. 

General Baird saw the negroes on the steamer, and approach- 
ing Colonel Utley, said, — 

" Why, Colonel, how is this ? Have all of these negroes 
free papers ? " 

" Perhaps not all, but those who have n't, liave declared their 
intentions ! " said the Colonel. 

The Twenty-Second took transportation on the steamer Com- 
mercial. The captain of the boat was a Kentuckian, who came 
to Colonel Utley in great trepidation, saying : " Colonel, I can't 
start till those negroes are put on shore. I shall be held re- 
sponsible. My boat will be seized and libelled under the laws 
of the State." 

" I can't help that, sir ; the boat is under the control and in 
the employ of the government. I am commander on board, 
and you have nothing to do but to steam up and go where you 
are directed. Otherwise I shall be under the necessity of ar- 
resting you." 

The captain departed and began his preparations. But now 
came the sheriff of Jefferson County with a writ. He wanted 
the bodies of George, Abraham, John, and Dick, who were still 
with the Twenty-Second. They were the runaway property of 
a fellow named Hogan, who a few days before had figured in 
a convention held at Frankfort, in which he introduced a series 
of Secession resolutions. 

" I have a writ for your arrest, but I am willing to waive all 
action on condition of your giving up the fugitives which you 
are harboring contrary to the peace and dignity of the State," 
said the sheriff. 



134 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [October, 

" I have other business to attend to just now. I am under 
orders from my superiors in command to proceed down the 
river without any delay, and must get the boat under way," 
said the Colonel, bowing, politely. 

" But, Colonel, you are aware of the consequences of de- 
liberately setting at defiance the laws of a sovereign State," 
said the sheriff. 

"Are you all ready there?" said the Colonel, not to the 
slieriff, but to the officer of the day who had charge of affairs. 

" Yes, sir," 

" Then cast off"." 

The game of bluff had been played between the Twenty- 
Second Wisconsin and the State of Kentucky, and Wisconsin 
had won. 

The sheriff" jumped ashore. There were hoarse puffs fi'om 
the steam-pipes, the great wheels turned in the stream, the 
Commercial swung from her moorings, and the soldiers of 
Wisconsin floated down the broad Ohio with the stars and 
stripes waving above them. 

By their devotion to principle, by the firmness of their com- 
mander, they had given the cause of Freedom a mighty uplift 
in the old State of Kentucky. 

I recall an evening in the Louisville Hotel. Officers of the 
army, — majors, captains, lieutenants, — were there from camp, 
chatting with the ladies. It was a pleasant company, — an hour 
of comfort and pleasure. The evening was chilly, and a coal- 
fire in the grate sent out its genial warmth. The cut glass of 
the chandeliers sparkled with ruby, purple, and amethyst in the 
changing light. In the anterooms there were chess-players 
absorbed in the intellectual game, with a knot of silent spec- 
tators. 

At the dinner-table Mr. Brown was my servant. His com- 
plexion was a shade darker than mine. He served me faith- 
fully, wearing a white cotton jacket and apron. He entered 
the parlor in the evening, not wearing his hotel imiform, but 
faultlessly dressed as a gentleman. He brought not a lady, 
but a double-bass viol. He was followed by two fellow-ser- 
vants, one with a violin, the other with a banjo. The one 
with the violin Avas a short, thick-set, curly-headed African, — 



1862.] INVASION OF KENTUCKY. 135 

black as the King of Dahomey. The other was whiter than 
most of the officers in the room. 

Tliey were tlie hotel table-waiters and also a quadrille band. 
The violinist did not know B flat from F sharp. Musical nota- 
tion was Greek to him ; but he had rhythm, a quick, tuneful 
ear, and an appreciation of the beautiful in music rarely found 
among the many thousands who take lessons by the quarter. 
He did not give us Old Tar River, Uncle Ned, and Susan- 
nah, but themes from Labitsky and Donizetti, — melodies 
which once heard are long remembered. His two comrades 
accompanied him in time and tune. For the young ladies 
and officers it was a delightful hour. Mr. Brown was the 
factotum, calling the changes with as much steadiness and pre- 
cision, while handling the double-bass, as Hall or Dodworth at 
the grand ball to the Prince of Wales. So we were served by 
four thousand dollars' worth of body and soul ! 

The door-way leading into the hall was a portrait-gallery of 
dusky faces, — Dinah, Julia, Sam, and James ; old aunt Re- 
becca, with a yellow turban on her head ; young Sarah, three 
feet high, bare-legged, bare-armed, in a torn, greasy calico 
dress, — her only garment ; young Toney, who had so much 
India-rubber in his heels that he capered irrepressibly through 
the hall and executed a double-shuffle. While the grand stair- 
way, leading to the halls above was piled with dark, eager 
faces, reminding one of the crowded auditory looking upon 
Belshazzar's feast in the great picture of Allston, — fifteen, 
twenty, thirty thousand dollars' worth of bones, blood, and 
brains ! 

The violinist was in trouble. The screws would not stick, 
and in spite of his spitting in the holes, his twisting and turn- 
ing, he was obliged to stop in the middle of the dance. He 
made strenuous efforts to keep his instrument in tune. A man 
in shoulder-straps, leading a fair-haired, graceful maiden, his 
partner in the dance, with a clenched fist and an oath informed 
the musician that if he did n't fix that quick he would knock 
his head off! It was a little glimpse of the divine, beneficent 
missionary institution ordained of God for the elevation of the 
sons of Ham ! 

It was not difficult to make a transition in thought to a South 



136 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [October, 

Carolina rice-swamp or Louisiana sugar-plantation or Arkansas 
cotton-field, where a master's passion was law, and where 
knocking ofif men's heads was not so rare a performance. 

Among the dusky crowd gazing in upon the waltzers was a 
girl, sixteen or seventeen years old, — a brunette, with cherry 
lips, sparkling black eyes, and cheeks as fresh and fair as apri- 
cots. She was a picture of health. She gazed with evident 
delight, and yet there was always upon her countenance a 
shade of sadness. In form and feature she was almost wholly 
Anglo-Saxon, and more than Anglo-Saxon in beauty. 

I met her in the hall during the day having charge of a 
young child, and had marked her beauty, ease, grace, and in 
telligence, and supposed that she was a boarder at the hotel, — 
the daughter or young wife of some officer, till seeing Ixer the 
central figure of the dusky group. Then the thought came 
flashing, " She is a slave ! " 

She could have joined in the cotillon with as much grace as 
any of the fair dancers. 

Her father, I learned, was a high-born Kentuckian, and her 
grandfather was from one of the first families of Virginia ; but 
her great-great-great-grandmother was born in Africa, and that 
was the reason why she stood a silent spectator in the hall, in- 
stead of whirling with the gay colonel in the dance. 



1862.] FROM HAEPER'S FERRY TO FREDERICKSBURG. 137 



CHAPTER X. 

FROM HAEPER'S FERRY TO FREDERICKSBURG. 

Returning to Virginia I accompanied the army of the Po- 
tomac in the march from Berlin and Harper's Ferry to the 
Rappahannock. The roads were excellent, the days mild, 
the air clear. Beautiful beyond description the landscape, 
viewed from the passes of the Blue Ridge. Westward in the 
valley of the Shenandoah was Long-street's corps, traced by 
rising clouds of dust and the smoke of innumerable camp- 
fires. Eastward was the great army of the Union, winding 
along the numerous roads, towards the south. Many of the 
soldiers had their pets, — one had two yellow dogs in leading- 
strings. A gray-bearded old soldier carried a young puppy 
with its eyes not yet open, in his arms as tenderly as if it were 
a child. A Connecticut boy had a little kitten on his shoul- 
ders, which kept its place contentedly. Occasionally the lad 
caressed it, while kitty laid its face against that of the beard- 
less boy and purred with pleasure. 

The march was tediously slow. General McClellan was 
averse to making it at all. He had delayed from day to day, 
and from week to week, till ordered by the President to ad- 
vance. He had no well-considered plan of operations. 

The President's patience was exhausted, and at Warrenton 
he was deprived of the command of the army. 

General Burnside, his successor, took the command reluc- 
tantly ; but he was quick in deciding upon a plan. General 
McClellan's line of march was towards Gordonsville. Burn- 
side decided to move upon Fredericksburg. The movement 
was made with great rapidity, and Burnside only failed of 
seizing the place because the pontoons were not there at the 
time appointed. Lee came and occupied the town, threw up 
his earthworks, and planted his batteries. Burnside planned 
to have Franklin cross the Rappahannock below Port Royal, 



138 . FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Nov. 

Hooker above it, while Siimuer was to cross opposite the town ; 
but a heavy storm frustrated the movement. 

It was generally supposed that the army would go into winter 
quarters, and many of the correspondents accordingly returned 
to their homes. My friend and companion in the West, Mr. 
Richardson, left the army of the Potomac in disgust, and pro- 
ceeded West again in search of adventure. His wishes were 
more than gratified soon after at Vicksburg, where he fell into 
the hands of the Rebels, who boarded him awhile at the Libby 
in Richmond, and afterward at the Salisbury prison in North 
Carolina. He ungraciously turned his back upon his Rebel 
friends one night, took all his baggage, and left without paying 
his bills. 

He gained the Union lines in Tennessee after months of 
imprisonment, with his desires for adventure in that direction 
fully satisfied. 

Nearly one half of the correspondents with the various 
armies either fell into the hands of the Rebels or were wound- 
ed. Several died of diseases contracted in the malarious 
swamps. As a class they were daring, courageous, venture- 
some, always on the alert, making hard rides, day and night, 
on the battle-field often where the fire was hottest, — writing 
their accounts seated on a stump, spreading their blankets 
where night overtook them, or frequently making all-night 
rides after a day of excitement, hardship, and exposure, that 
the public might have early information of what had trans- 
pired. Their statements were often contradictory. Those first 
received by the public were not unfrequently full of errors, 
and sometimes were wholly false, for the reason that many 
papers had a correspondent a few miles in rear of the army, at 
the base of supplies, who caught up every wild rumor and 
sent it flying over the land. 

Gold speculators improved every occasion to gull the public 
by false news. There is reason to believe that men in high 
official positions were in collusion with operators in bullion, to 
the mutual advantage of all concerned. 

The press of the country, reflecting the feelings of the peo- 
ple, pronounced the campaign at an end. The friends of Gen- 
eral McClellan were clamorous for his return. Congress and 



1862.] FEOM HARPER'S FERRY TO FREDERICKSBURG. 139 

political advisers in Washington demanded that Burnside 
should move somewhere. They knew nothing of the obsta- 
cles in his path. 

In a letter written on the 9th of December, 1862, the follow- 
ing view of the situation was presented by the correspondent 
of the Boston Journal : — 

" It is a clear, cold morning. The sky is without a cloud. Stand- 
ing near General Sumner's quarters, I have a wide sweep of vision. 
The quarters of the veteran general commanding the right grand di- 
vision are in a spacious mansion, newly constructed, the property of a 
wealthy planter, whose estate is somewhat shorn of its beauty by the 
ravages of war. The fences are all gone, the forests are fast disap- 
pearing, the fine range of cedars which lined the Belleplain road are no 
longer to be seen. All around are the white tents of the command, 
the innumerable camp-fires sending up blue columns of smoke. The 
air is calm. You hear the rumbling of distant baggage-trains, the 
clatter of hundreds of axes felling the forests for fuel, — the bugle-call 
of the cavalrymen, and the rat-a-plan of the drummers, and mingling 
with all, the steady, constant flow of the falling waters of the winding 
stream. 

" Looking far off to the southeast, across the intervale of the river, 
you see a white cloud of steam moving beneath the fringe of a forest. 
It is a locomotive from Richmond, dragging its train of cars with sup- 
plies for the Rebel camps. The forests and hills beyond are alive 
with men. Resting my glass against the side of the building to keep 
it steady, I can count the men grouped around the camp-fires, turning 
at times to keep themselves warm. Others are bringing in wood. An 
officer rides along. A train of wagons is winding down the hill to- 
ward the town. All along the range of hills are earthworks with sand- 
bag embrasures, and artillery behind, — not quaker guns, I think, but 
field artillery, so ranged that a movement directly across the river 
would be marching into the jaws of death, — as hazardous and destruc- 
tive as the charge of the Light Brigade at Balaklava. 

" I know that there is a clamor for an onward movement, a desire 
and expectation for an advance ; but I think there are few men in the 
country who, after taking a look at the Rebel positions, would like to 
lead in a movement across the stream. 

" Looking into the town of Fredericksburg we see but few smokes 
ascending from the chimneys, but few people in the streets. It is al- 
most wholly deserted. The women and children have gone to Rich- 
mond, or else are shivering in camp. Close upon the river-bank on 



140 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

either side face the pickets, within easy talking distance of each other. 
There has been no shooting of late. There is constant badinage. The 
Rebel picket asks the Yankee when he is going to Richmond. The 
Yankee asks the Rebel if he don't want a pair of boots. I am sorry 
to say that such conversation is mixed with profane words. Each 
party seems to think that hard words hit hard." 

" Last night the southern sky was red with the blaze of Rebel 
camp-fires. Far off to the southeast I see a hazy cloud, and columns 
of smoke, indicating the presence of a large army. I do not doubt 
that if we attempt to cross we shall meet with terrible opposition from 
a force nearly if not quite as large as our own. 

" If the President or General Halleck insist upon Burnside's mak- 
king the movement, it will be made with whatever power, energy, de- 
termination, and bravery the army can exhibit. I am as anxious as 
any one can be to see a gi-eat blow given to the Rebellion ; but I am 
not at all anxious to see the attempt made against such disadvantages 
as are apparent to the most casual observer from this position." * 

It was an unreasonable demand which the public made upon 
Burnside. He had been just one month in command of the 
army. His first plan had failed through the remissness of 
others ; his second effort to move had been made abortive 
by the storm. He could not attempt again tlie movement with 
any hope of success, for Lee had taken precautions against an 
attack upon his flank. Neither the public, the politician, nor 
the War Department would consent to his going into winter 
quarters. He had no alternative, other than to devise a new 
plan. These considerations are to be kept in remembrance in 
reviewing the battle of Fredericksburg. 

General Burnside obtained correct information of the po- 
sition held by General Lee. Jackson's corps was separated 
from Longstreet's by a ravine, but General Lee had constructed 
a road through the woods and across a ravine, by which troops 
could be readily marched to the right or left, as they might be 
needed. He was satisfied that Lee did not expect liim to cross 
at the town, but lower down the river. He decided, therefore, 
to cross the Rappahannock, and make a desperate push to ob- 
tain possession of the road, which would divide Lee's army. 

* Letter to Boston Journal, December 9, 1862. 



1862.] FROM HARPER'S FERRY TO FREDERICKSBURG. 141 

The plan was accepted by a council of officers on the 10th 
of December. Preparations were made that night for the 
passage of the river in three places. The artillery was drawn 
in position along the bank, — about one hundred and fifty 
pieces, some of which were thirty-pounders. Orders were 
issued to the troops to be ready at a moment's warning. Gen- 
eral Woodbury, with a brigade of engineers, was ordered down 
to the river. 

Soon after dark on the night of the 10th, the brigade, with 
its long train of boats on wheels, came down from the Staiford 
hills. Boats sufficient for the construction of two bridges 
halted near the railroad ; enough for two more went a third of 
a mile'down stream, opposite the lower end of the town, while 
the remainder went a mile and a half farther down, almost to 
Mr. Bernard's house. Sumner and Hooker were to use those 
opposite the town, and Franklin those at Bernard's. A brigade 
of troops was ordered to protect the engineers in their work. 
The gunners stood beside their guns, ready to open fire if the 
Rebels opposed them. The engineers took the boats from the 
wagons, pushed them out over the thin ice, anchored them 
in the stream, and commenced laying the timbers and planks. 
A dense fog hung over the river, which concealed their opera- 
tions, and before daybreak the bridges were nearly completed. 
The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Mississippi regiments of 
Barksdale's brigade, and the Eighth Florida, of Ferry's brig- 
ade, were on picket along the river, while the Thirteenth and 
Twenty-First Mississippi and Third Georgia were in reserve in 
the town. 

Lee was wary. He expected an advance of the Union 
army. His scouts were alert. All the commanders were or- 
dered to be vigilant. So keeping a sharp look-out, the sentinels 
walked the bank through the long winter night, peering into 
the darkness, and listening to catch the meaning of the con- 
fused hum which floated to them across the stream. 



142 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 



CHAPTER XI. 

BATTLE OF FRE.DERICKSBUKG. 

At five o'clock on the morning of the 11th of December 
two signal-guns were fired on the heights of Freclericksbiirg. 
Deep and heavy their roar, rolling along the valley, echoing 
from hill to hill, and rousing the sleepers of both armies. We 
who listened upon the Falmouth hills knew that the crossing 
was not a surprise, but that the Rebels were ready for battle. 
And now as the day dawned there came a rattling of mus- 
ketry along the river. The Rebel pickets opened the fire. The 
gunners at the batteries were quick to respond, and sent grape 
and canister across the stream. The Rebel pickets at the lower 
bridges soon retired, and the engineers completed their work. 
But in the town the Mississippians took shelter in the build- 
ings, and poured a deadly fire upon the bridge-builders. Al- 
most every soldier who attempted to carry out a plank fell. 
For a while the attempt was relinquished. 

" The bridge must be completed," said General Burnside. 

Once more the brave engineers attempted it. The fog still 
hung over the river. Those who stood on the northern bank 
could only see the flashes of the rifles on the other shore. The 
gunners were obliged to fire at random, but so energetic their 
fire the engineers were able to carry the bridge within eighty 
or ninety feet of the shore, and then so deadly in turn was 
the fire of the Rebels that it was murder to send men out 
with a plank. 

General Burnside stood on the piazza of the Phillips House, 
a mile from the pontoons. General Sumner and General 
Hooker were there. Aids and couriers came and went with 
messages and orders. 

" My bridge is completed, and I am ready to cross," was 
Franklin's message at half past nine. 

" You must wait till the upper bridge is completed," was the 
reply to Franklin. 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 143 

Two hours passed. A half-dozen attempts were made to 
complete the upper bridge without success. Brave men not 
belonging to the engineers came down to the bank, surveyed 
the scene, and then volunteering their services, seized planks 
and boards, ran out upon the bridge, but only to fall before 
the sharpshooters concealed in the cellars of the houses not 
ten rods distant. Captain Brainard of the Fiftieth New York, 
with eleven men, volunteered to finish the nearly completed 
work. They went out upon the run. Five fell at one volley, 
and the rest returned. Captain Perkins of the same regiment 
led another party. He fell with a ghastly wound in his neck. 
Half of his men are killed or wounded. These were sacri- 
fices of life with nothing gained. It was soul-inspiring to wit- 
ness such heroic devotion, but heart-sickening to stand on the 
bank and see them . slaughtered, — their blood turning to 
crimson the turbid waters of the Rappahannock. 

General Burnside had no desire to injure the town, but 
under the usages of war he had a right to bombard it ; for the 
Rebels had concealed themselves in the houses, fnaking use of 
them to slaughter his men. 

" Bring all your guns to bear upon the city and batter it 
down," was the order issued to General Hunt, chief of artillery. 
Colonel Hays had eight batteries on the right ; Colonel Tomp- 
kins had eleven batteries on the right centre, opposite the upper 
pontoons, — some of them in the yard of Mr. Lacey's house, 
near the river ; Colonel Tyler had seven batteries a little farther 
down on the left centre ; while Captain De Russey had seven 
batteries opposite the lower pontoons. There were in all thirty- 
five batteries, with a total of one hundred and seventy-nine 
guns, all bearing upon the town. The artillerymen received the 
orders to prepare for action with a hurrah. They had chafed 
all the morning, and longed for an opportunity to avenge the 
death of their gallant comrades. 

The hour had come. They sprang to their pieces. The fire 
ran from the right to the left, — from the heavy twenty-four- 
pounders on the heights of Falmouth to the smaller pieces on 
the hills where Washington passed his boyhood. The air became 
thick with the murky clouds. The earth shook beneath the 
terrific explosions of the shells, which went howling over the 



144 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

river, crashing into the houses, battering down -walls, splinter- 
ing doors, ripping up floors. Sixty solid shot and shells a 
minute 'were thrown, and the bombardment was kept up till 
nine thousand were fired. No hot shot were used, but the 
explosions set fire to a block of buildings, which added terri- 
ble grandeur to the scene. 

The Rebel army stood upon the heights beyond the town 
and watched the operations. Lee's Rebel artillery was silent, 
and the Mississippians concealed in the houses were alone par- 
ticipants in the contest. 

The fog lifted at last and revealed the town. The streets 
were deserted, but the houses, the church-steeples, the stores 
were riddled with shot ; yet no impression had been made on 
the Mississippians. 

Burnside's artillerymen could not depress their guns suffi- 
ciently to shell them out. A working party went out upon the 
bridge, but one after another was killed or wounded. 

The time had come for a bold movement. It was plain that 
the Mississippians must be driven out before the bridge could 
be completed, and that a party must go over in boats, charge 
up the hill, and rout them from their hiding-places. Who 
would go ? Who attempt the hazardous enterprise ? There 
were brave men standing on the bank by the Lacey House, who 
had watched the proceedings during the long hours. They 
were accustomed to hard fighting : Hall's brigade," composed of 
the Seventh Michigan, Nineteenth and Twentieth Massachusetts, 
and Forty-Second New York. They had fought at Fair Oaks, 
Savage Station, Glendale, Malvern, and Antietam. The Twen- 
tieth had been in all these battles, and also at Ball's Bluff. 

" We will go over and clean out the Rebels," was the cry of 
this brigade. 

" You shall have the privilege of doing so," said General 
Burnside. 

There were not boats enough for all, — not enough for one 
regiment even. A portion of the Seventh Michigan was select- 
ed to go first, while the other regiments stood as a supporting 
force. 

The men run down the winding path to the water's edge, 
jump into the boats, and push out into the stream. It is a 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 145 

moment of intense anxiety. No one knows how large the force 
opposing them. The Rebel sharpshooters are watching the 
movement from their hiding-places. They have a fair view and 
can pick their men. The men in the boats know it, yet they 
move steadily onward, steering straight across the stream, with- 
out a thought of turning back, though their comrades are fall- 
ing, — some headlong into the river, others dropping into the 
boats. The oarsmen pull with rapid strokes. When one falls 
another takes his place. Two thirds the distance over, — the 
boats ground in shoal water. The soldiers wait for no word of 
command, but with a common impulse, with an ardor which 
stops not to count the cost, they leap into the water, wade to 
the shore, and charge up the bank. Some fall to rise no more, 
but their surviving comrades rush up the slippery slope. A 
loud hurrah rings out from the soldiers who watch them from 
the Falmouth shore. Up, up they go, facing death, firing not, 
intent only to get at the foe and win victory with the bayonet ! 
They smash the windows, batter down doors, driving or cap- 
turing the foe. 

Loud and hearty the cheers of the regiments upon the other 
shore. The men of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Massachu- 
setts would give anything to be there. All the while the can- 
non are roaring, hurling solid shot and shell into the doomed 
city. 

" They leaped in the rocking shallops. 

Ten offered where one could go; 
And the breeze was alive with laughter 

Till the boatmen began to row. 

" Then the shore, where the Rebels harbored, 
Was fringed with a gush of flame, 
And buzzing, like bees, o'er the water 
The swarms of their bullets came. 

" Not a whisper ! Each man was conscious 
He stood in the sight of death ; 
So he bowed to the awful presence, 
And treasured his living breath. 

" And many a brave, stout fellow, 

Who sprang in the boats with mirth, 
Ere they made that fatal crossing, 
Was a load of lifeless earth. 
10 



146 



FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[Dec. 




'> 


- 


= 


3 


3 


i 


s 


3 


3 


o 


















WJS 


^ 


,"' 




« 


_« 




to 


o 


O 

3 


ei 


hr 




1 

3 


^ 


« 


o 


c 


is 

o 


3 


<i> 


c 


c 


a 


u. 


— 


K 


i^Cc: 


— 


~ 


■A 


r^ 


o5 CO •^ o so t-^ <» 


a 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 147 

"But yet the boats moved onward ; 
Through fire and lead they drove, 
With the dark, still mass within them, 
And the floating stars above. 

" Cheer after cheer we sent them, 
As only armies can, — 
Cheers for old Massachusetts, 
Cheers for young IVIichigan ! 

•' They formed in line of battle ; 
Not a man was out of place. 
Then with levelled steel they hurled them 
Straight in the .Rebels' face. 

*' ' O help me, help me, comrade ! 
For tears my eyelids drown, 
As I see their starry banners 

Stream up the smoking town.' " * 

When the bridge-builders saw the soldiers charge up the hill, 
they too caught the enthusiasm of the moment, and finished 
their work. The other regiments of the brigade, before the last 
planks were laid, rushed down the bank, ran out upon the 
bridge, dashed up the bank, joined their comrades, and drove 
the Rebels from the streets nearest the river. 

History furnishes but few records of more daring exploits 
than this action of the Seventh Michigan. Their work was 
thorough and complete. In fifteen minutes they cleared the 
houses in front of them, and took more prisoners than their 
own party numbered ! 

It was now half past four in the afternoon, one of the shortest 
days of winter. The sun was going down. The Rebels had de- 
layed the crossing through the entire day. General Burnside 
was severely censured by some Northern as well as Southern 
papers for bombarding the town ; he had no desire to do injxiry 
to the citizens in person or property, but the stubborn resist- 
ance of the Rebels made it necessary thus to use his artillery. 
When General Sumner arrived at Falmouth, three weeks before, 
he demanded the surrender of the place ; but the citizens and 
the women begged the officer in command not to give it up. 

" We would rather have the town burned than given up to 
the Yankees," f said they. 

* Boker's " Crossing at Fredericksburg." 
t Eichmond Examiner, December 15, 1862. 



148 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Dec. 

But now the Yankees were there, marching through the 
streets. The houses were battered, torn, and rent. Some were 
in flames, and a battle was raging through the town. 

As soon as the bridge was completed, the other brigades of 
General Howard's division moved across the river. The Rebel 
batteries, which till now had kept silence, opened furiously with 
solid shot and shell, but the troops moved steadily over, and 
took shelter along the river bank. The Rebels were falling 
back from street to street, and the men from Michigan and 
Massachusetts were pressing on. 

I stood upon the bank of the river and watched the scene in 
the deepening twilight. Far up the streets there were bright 
flashes from the muskets of the Rebels, who fired from cellars, 
chamber windows, and from sheltered places. Nearer were 
dark masses of men in blue, who gave quick volleys as they 
moved steadily on, demolishing doors, crushing in windows, 
and searching every hiding-place. Cannon were flaming on all 
the hills, and the whole country was aglow with the camp 
fires of the two great armies. The Staiford hills were alive 
with men, — regiments, brigades, and divisions moving in col- 
umn from their encampments to cross the river. The sky was 
without a cloud. The town was lighted by lurid flames. The 
air was full of hissings, — the sharp cutting sounds of the leaden 
rain. The great twenty-pounder guns on the heights of Fal- 
mouth were roaring the while. There were shouts, hurrahs, 
yells, and groans from the streets. So the fight went on till 
the Rebels were driven wholly from the town to their intrench- 
ments beyond. 

The Seventeenth Mississippi was the most actively engaged 
of the Rebel regiments. Its commander, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Fizer, in his report, says : — 

" The Yankees made nine desperate attempts to finish their bridges, 
but were repulsed at every attempt. They used their artillery inces- 
santly, with a heavy detachment of sharpshooters, for twelve hours, we 
holding our position tirmly the whole time, until about half past four, P. 
M., when they increased their artillery and infantry, and their batteries 
becoming so numerous and concentrated, we could not use our rifles. 
Being deprived of all protection, we were compelled to fall back to Car- 
oline Street, and from there were ordered from town. The casualties 



A. 



1862,] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 149 

of the regiment during the engagement were one hundred and sixteen 
wounded, killed, and missing." * 

When the soldiers of the Seventh Michigan leaped into the 
boats, a drummer-boy joined them, — Robert Heiiry Hender- 
shot. He was only twelve years old, but his dark eyes jflashed 
brightly under the excitement of the moment. His drum was 
upon his neck. 

" Get out, you can't go," said an officer. 

" I want to go," said Robert. 

" No, you will get shot. Out with you." 

Robert jumped into the water, but instead of going ashore, 
remained to push off the boat ; and then, instead of letting go 
his hold, clung to the gunwale, and was taken across. 

As the boat grounded upon the other shore, a piece of shell 
tore through his drum. He threw it away, seized the gun of a 
fallen soldier, rushed up the hill, and came upon a Rebel sol- 
dier, slightly wounded. " Surrender ! " said Robert, pointing 
his gun at him. The Rebel gave up his gun, and Robert 
marched him to the rear. When he returned to the other side 
of the river, General Burnside saw him, and said, — 

" Boy, I glory in your spunk ! If you keep on in this way a 
few more years, you will be in my place." 

His regiment, after the battle, was sent West, and Robert 
was in the battles of Lebanon, Murfreesboro, Chattanooga, and 
McMinniville, where he fought gallantly. 

As the Rebels had used the houses for a defence, the soldiers, 
now that they were in possession of the town, appropriated to 
their own use whatever suited their fancy. Their great desire 
was to obtain tobacco, and the tobacco shops were first broken 
open. A large quantity had been thrown into the river by the 
Rebel authorities to prevent its falling into the hands of the 
Yankees ; but the soldiers soon fished it up, dried it by their 
bivouac fires, and through the long night, while keeping watch, 
enjoyed their pipes at the expense of the enemy. Soldiers who 
did not care for tobacco helped themselves to flour, meat, po- 
tatoes, sugar, and molasses. They had a merry night cooking 

* Lieutenant-Colonel Fixer's Report. 



150 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

bacon and eggs, frying pork, making hot cakes in the kitchens. 
The houses were ransacked ; beds, blankets, carpets, sofas, 
rocking-chairs, settees, and lounges were carried into the 
streets. Some dressed themselves in old-fashioned and anti- 
quated clothes which they found in the chambers. 

It was a carnival night. One fellow appropriated a heavy 
volume of Congressional documents, which he carried about 
several days. Another found a stuffed monkey in one of the 
houses, which he shouldered and bore away. One soldier had 
a dozen custard-cups on a string around his neck. Another, 
finding a nice beaver hat, threw aside his old cap and took his 
place again in the ranks, the sport of all his comrades, for being 
so nice a gentleman. It was not, however, an indiscriminate pil- 
lage of the whole town. A great many dwellings were not en- 
tered at all, and the owners, after the evacuation of the city, 
found their premises but little injured. In the houses nearest 
the river the soldiers felt that they were entitled to whatever 
they could lay their hands on. But those who had taken mat- 
tresses and bedding were obliged to give them up. The surgeons 
in charge of the hospitals seized the articles for the benefit of 
the wounded. 

" Rev. Arthur B. Fuller is killed," said an acquaintance, as I 
stood upon the bank of the river. " His body is lying in the 
street." 

He had been chaplain of the Massachusetts Sixteenth through 
all the Peninsula campaign, working hard day and night in the 
hospital, till his health had given out, and he had been honor- 
ably discharged. He had preached his last sermon on the 
Sunday before ; but although no longer in the service, know- 
ing that there was to be a great battle, so intense was his pa- 
triotism that he could not go away, but remained to do what 
he could. He took a musket, became a volunteer, and went 
over with the regiments. 

" I must do something for my country. "What shall I do ? " 
he asked of Captain Dunn in the streets of Fredericksburg on 
that fatal evening. 

" Now is a good time for you, — fall in on the left," said the 
captain, who saw that he was cool and collected, altliough the 
bullets were falling thick and fast around them. He stood in 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 151 

front of a grocery store, loaded his musket and fired, and then 
coolly loaded again. He was taking aim once more when he 
was shot by a sharpshooter. The Rebels advanced, and Cap- 
tain Dunn was obliged to fall back. He lay where he fell till 
the enemy were driven from the town, when his body was re- 
covered. The Rebels had picked his pockets. They stabbed 
a wounded man who was lying by his side. The soldiers of 
his regiment who had listened to his teachings in life came in 
groups to gaze with silent sorrow upon the marble brow of 
him who had been a faithful teacher, and who gave his life 
freely for his country. 

At his funeral obsequies in Boston, Rev. E. 0. Haven said 
of him : — 

" Could he whose mangled body now lies before you, from which the 
deadly bullet has expelled the noble Christian's soul, rise again and 
speak out as he was wont to do in ringing words, they would not be 
apologetic, but words of exultation. Were it possible for him to be at 
once fallen in battle and yet alive with us, I know that he would fill 
our souls with his own holy enthusiasm. I know that he would make 
us understand and feel the magnitude of his thought and the love of 
Ijis heart, when he offered to his country, in what he thought her bit- 
terest trial, the sight of his eye and the strength of his arm, and above 
all the moral example of his character, won by many years' devotion 
to the good of his fellow-men. He offered all this to his country, and 
he did right. It was an overflowing love. He gave his life for liberty 
to all men, instead of slavery for negroes, vassalage for the great ma- 
jority of the whites, and a despotism, — greatest curse of all, — for a 
few. He offered his life to inspire the army with noble purpose, and 
if need be, to inspire the nation. He knew that his life might be 
taken, and is not now surprised ; but there comes a voice from his 
spirit to us saying. Waste not your sympathies in inactive sorrow, but 
connect the strong tide of your emotion into vigorous thought and pow- 
erful action. Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and your chil- 
dren, — or see to it that they are so protected as not to need your 
tears." 

Rev. James Freeman Clarke was his playmate in boyhood, 
and his friend through life, and standing by his coffin, looking 
for the last time upon his face, said : — 

" Arthur Fuller was like the most of us, a lover of peace ; but he 
saw, as we have had to see, that sometimes true peace can only come 



152 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING, [DeC. 

through war. In this last struggle at Fredericksburg he took a soldier's 
weapon, and went on with the little forlorn hope, who were leading the 
advance through the streets. He had not been in battle much before, 
but more among the sick in hospitals. Perhaps he thought it right to 
show the soldiers that in an hour of emergency he was ready to stand 
by their side. So he went with a courage and devotion which all 
must admire, and fell, adding his blood also to the precious blood which 
has been shed as an atonement for the sins of the nation. May that 
blood not be shed in vain. May it be accepted by God as a costly sac- 
rifice, and may we as a people, when our necessary trials and punish- 
ments are sufficiently endured, become that righteous aud happy nation 
God meant us to be ; setting an example to mankind of a Christian 
republic in which there is no master and no slave, no tyrant and no 
victim, — not a mere rabble scrambling for gain, but brothers, co-oper- 
ating in building up a grand commonwealth of true liberty, justice, and 
humanity. Let our friends go or stay, let us live or die, — 

' So wake we to higher aims, 
Of a land that has lost for a little her love of gold, 
And love of peace ; that was full of wrongs, shames, 
Horrible, hateful, monstrous, not to be told. 
And hail once more the banner of battle unrolled ! 
Though many an eye shall darken, and many shall weep, 
Yet many a darkness into fight shall leap.' 

" . . . . To die thus, full of devotion to a noble cause, is not to 
die, — it is to live. It is rising into a higher life. It is passing up 
into the company of the true and noble, of the brave and generous, — 
it is going to join heroes and martyrs of all ages, who have not counted 
life dear when given to a good cause. Such devoted offerings by the 
young and brave surrendering up their lives raise us all above the 
fear of death. What matters it when we die, so that we live holy ? — 

' They are the dead, the burled, 
They who do still survive. 
In sin and sense interred ; — 
The dead ! — they are alive ! ' " 

Foothold having been secured on the southern bank of the 
Rappahannock, the army began to cross. A third pontoon 
bridge was constructed at the lower end of the town. A thick 
fog hung over the river on the morning of the 12th. The air 
was calm, and I could distinctly hear the confused hum of 
preparation for the great battle. Burnside's troops were mov- 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBUEG. 153 

iiig into position, and so were Lee's ; but all the movements 
of both armies were concealed by the fog. 

The Rebel pickets still clung to the outskirts of the town. 
At noon the fog disappeared, drifting up the Rappahannock. 
Suddenly the Rebel batteries on the hills above the town began 
to throw shells upon the Second Corps, which had crossed the 
upper bridge and was forming in the streets. Colonel Tyler, 
who commanded the heavy guns on the Falmouth hills, was 
quick to reply. The batteries in the centre opened, also those 
on the left. The distance from the most remote battery on the 
right to the farthest on the left was five miles. The Second 
and Ninth Corps were in the town, the front line was in the 
streets and the rear line along the bank of the river. Artillery 
trains and wagons loaded with ammunition were going over. 
Solid shot from the Rebel batteries tossed up the water in the 
river. Shells were bursting in the town. 

The First and Sixth Corps, under Franklin, had crossed at 
the lower bridge by the house of Mr. Bernard, and were mov- 
ing over the wide plain. The Bernard House, jvhere Franklin 
had established his head-quarters, was a fine old mansion sur- 
rounded by trees. Beyond the house there was a smooth inter- 
vale, with here and there a hollow, where the troops could find 
shelter from the artillery-fire of the enemy. 

General Stoneman was moving down from the Falmouth hills 
with Birney's and Sickles's divisions. Opposite Falmouth, on 
the Rebel left, was Long-street's corps, with Anderson's division 
on Stanisbury Hill, — his pickets stationed along the canal, 
which winds around its base. Next to Anderson was Ransom's 
division, on Maryee's Hill, directly in rear of the town. Two 
roads run up the hill, leading west, — the Gordonsville plank- 
road and the Orange turnpike. Mr. Maryee's house stands 
between them. It is a fine brick dwelling, with a stately por- 
tico before it, with a beautiful lawn sloping towards the city, 
shaded by oaks and adorned with flowering shrubs. From 
the roof of the mansion General Longstreet can obtain a fair 
view of what is going on in the Union lines. He can see the 
troops gathering in the streets and behold the dark masses 
under Franklin moving out past the Bernard House. 

At. the base of the hill he can see some of his own soldiers, 



154 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

sheltered bclniid a stone-wall along the Old Telegraph road, 
which is dug like a canal into the side of the hill. It is a shel- 
tered position, and their rifles and muskets will sweep the level 
field in front towards the town. His heaviest cannon and his 
largest howitzers arfe in position around Maryee's house, behind 
earthworks. The Washington Artillery, which was in the first 
battle of Manassas, and which fought through all battles of the 
Peninsula, at Groveton and Antietam, is there. 

Ransom's division extends to Hazel Run, — a stream which 
comes down through a deep ravine from the west, gurgling over 
a rocky bed, and turning the great wheel of a grist-mill, just 
hid from sight as you look up the river from the town. An 
unfinished railroad embankment is thrown up in the run, — the 
Gordonsville road, — which was in construction when the war 
broke out. There is a hollow in the smooth field in front of 
the telegraph road, — a place to be kept in remembrance. 
There is a higher elevation beyond Maryee's house, which over- 
looks the town, and all the plain below, called Lee's Hill, where 
Lee has placed his guns of longest range. 

Across the ravine is McLaw's division, behind an embankment 
which extends up the hill and into the woods along the Tel- 
egraph road. Beyond McLaw's is Pickett's division ; then 
Hood's division, which forms the right of Longstreet's com- 
mand, and reaches to Deep Run. Longstreet's head-quarters 
are in rear of Hood. 

Across Deep Run are the head-quarters of Lee, who can stand 
by his tent and look down upon the battle-field. He can see what 
Couch and Wilcox are doing in the town. He is directly in front 
of Bernard's mansion, and can also behold all the movements 
of the Union troops on the plain. A. P. Hill's division of Jack- 
son's corps is in front of him, — Hill's left resting on Deep 
Run, and his right reaching to Captain Hamilton's house, wliere 
the railroad crosses the old Richmond road. Hill's troops are 
partially concealed in the woods. Behind Hill are the divisions 
of Early and Taliferro, — Taliferro being on the right, near 
Hamilton's house. Farther in the rear, on the hill, is D. H. 
Hill's division, which is held in reserve. There are fourteen 
guns — from Pegram's, McLi tosh's, Crenshaw's, Latham's, and 
Johnson's batteries — on the hill near Hamilton's. 



1862.] 



BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 



155 




n > 

•iS 



.2 M W , 
5 ~ « 






-^ 


(S 




u-j 




u 






" 


M 




S 








OJ tn 










IP 






S <^ 










cr> 






Co, rt 


'0 






(£'«.. =^^ 










K 




•o 




" 




o 


= £ g p - 










^ 




<;cqOCKfe 


ei 
















b 








S 









a 



• & ^ o ^ § 

H 1>1 00 OJ O rH 



5 ^ 



^ 


ft, -a 






p 


to O 




. >- "^ 


s 


^•i.M 






&) 


ouble 
eade' 
eade' 
bbon 
ckles 
riiev. 


es 


-o 


?2 


OSSOccM 


H 


11 S<1 03 •* lO CO 



156 FOUE YEARS OF HGHTING. [DeC. 

Mr. Bernard has been a large slaveholder. His estate is 
known in the county round by the name of Mansfield. His 
negroes live in humble homes, — in cabins near the railroad, 
out towards Hamilton's. There, around the cabins, Jackson 
has placed twenty-one guns from Davidson's, Raines's, Caskie's, 
and Braxton's batteries. To the riglit of these, and between 
Bernard's and the railroad, are twelve guns, — Wooding's and 
Carpenter's batteries. 

The road from Fredericksburg to Port Royal runs parallel to 
the river, aljout half a mile distant from the stream. 

General Stuart, with two brigades of cavalry and his batteries 
of light artillery, hold the road. The Louisiana Guards are 
sent down to aid him. His line runs nearly at right angles 
with Jackson's infantry line, and extends from the railroad to 
the river. His batteries will have a cross-fire upon the First 
and Sixth Corps, whenever they attempt to move out from Ber- 
nard's to gain possession of the railroad at Hamilton's. 

Such is the field, — a smooth plain, a mile wide and two 
miles long, around Bernard's, reaching up to the town. Ber- 
nard's farm is cut across by the Port Royal road, the old road 
to Richmond, and by the railrop-d. The Port Royal road is 
bordered by cedars, thick-set hedges, and a deep ditch. There 
are fences dividing the intervale into fields. Deep Run is 
fringed with alders. Maryee's Hill is quite steep. The Rebel 
cannon sweep all the plain, the field at the base of Maryee's, 
and the town itself. The Rebel troops have the protection of 
the sunken road, of the rifle-pits along the crests of the hills. 
They are sheltered by woods, by ravines, by the hedges and 
fences, but Burnside has no cover for his troops. They must 
march out upon the plain, charge up the hillsides, and receive 
the fire of a sheltered foe. 

To win a victory, even with a superior force, under such cir- 
cumstances, there must be not only great courage and self-pos- 
session, but a well-laid plan and harmonious action of all subor- 
dinate commanders. 

Burnside's plan was to make a vigorous movement with a 
large portion of his army to gain the railroad at Hamilton's 
house, and at the same time rout Longstreet from his position 
on Maryee's Hill. If he succeeded at Hamilton's, even if he 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 157 

failed at Maryee's, Lee would be compelled to evacuate the 
town, because Burnside would hold the railroad over which Lee 
received his supplies. 

In the council of officers, held on the night of the 11th, Gen- 
eral Franklin, who had about sixty thousand men, urged such 
a movement on the left. There was delay in issuing the orders, 
which gave Lee ample time to strengthen his position. The 
plan adopted was substantially that which Franklin had urged. 
These were Burnside's directions to Franklin : — 

" General Hardee will carry this despatch to you, and remain with 
you through the day. The general commanding directs that you keep 
your whole command in ' position ' for a rapid movement down the old 
Richmond road ; and you will send out at once a division at least, to 
pass below Smithfield, to seize, if possible, the heights near Captain 
Hamilton's, on this side of the Massaponax, taking care to keep it well 
supported and its line of retreat open. He has ordered another column 
of a division or more to be moved from General Sumner's command, up 
the Plank-road to its intersection with the Telegraph road, where they 
will divide, with a view of seizing the heights on both these roads. Hold- 
ing these heights, with the heights near Captain Hamilton's, will, he 
hopes, compel the enemy to evacuate the whole ridge between these 
points." 

In a letter to General Halleck, written on the 19th, a week 
after the battle, General Burnside explains his plan more 
fully. 

" The enemy," he says, " had cut a road in rear of the line of heights 
where we made our attack, by means of which they connected the two 
wings of their army and avoided a long detour around through a bad 
country. I obtained from a colored man information in regard to this 
road, which proved to be correct. I wanted to obtain possession of this 
road, and that was my reason for making my attack on the extreme 
left. I did not intend to make an attack on the right till that position 
was taken, which I supposed would stagger the enemy, cutting their 
line in two ; and then I proposed to make a direct attack in front and 
drive them out of their works." 

The day (the 12th) passed, and night came on before the 
army was in position to make the attack. At sunset the 
batteries along the lines opened fire, but the shells for the most 
part burst harmlessly, and the soldiers, accustomed to danger, 



158 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

cooked their coffee by the glimmering bivouac fires, spread their 
blankets on the ground, and lay down to sleep, giving no heed 
to the cannon's roar or the constant firing along the picket 
lines. 

THE MORNING. 

The morning of the 13th dawned. A thick fog hung over 
the river, so dense that it was hardly possible to distinguish ob- 
jects a hundred yards distant. General Sumner's head-quar- 
ters were by the house of Mr. Phillips, north of the river. Gen- 
eral Burnside rode down from his own head-quarters, and met 
General Sumner and General Hooker, and other officers. He 
wore an anxious look, and justly, for it was the most respon- 
sible hour of his life. Up to that time all of his well-laid plans 
had failed. He had hoped to cross the river and surprise the 
Rebels, but two days had passed since the beginning of the 
movement, giving Lee time to strengthen his defences. Now 
the fog hung over the river, and he was afraid of collision be- 
tween different divisions of his troops. But a password was 
whispered along the lines, and orders were issued to go for- 
ward. 

While the troops were waiting for the advance the mails 
arrived. How eagerly were the letters and papers grasped by 
the soldiers ! It was affecting to see them, as they read the 
words of love from home, dash the tears from their eyes. 
Home was dear to them just then. 

The fog began to drift along the valley. It was like the 
drawing aside of a curtain. The entire battle-field was in view. 
Two signal-guns were fired in quick succession by the Rebels 
far down on the left in front of Franklin. There was a quick 
mounting of horses at Burnside's head-quarters. The officers 
had received their final orders, and dashed away to carry them 
into execution. 

The main attack was to be led by Franklin. He had his own 
two corps, numbering forty thousand ; Stoneman was moving 
to his support with twenty thousand, and Butterfield, with the 
Fifth Corps, could be called to aid him if needed. 

Standing where General Tyler had planted his guns, I had a 
fair view of the entire battle-field. The position was below the 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 159 

town, near the lower bridge, on the Washington farm. Rebel 
officers were riding to and fro around Maryee's house. The 
gunners of the Washington Artillery were leaning upon their 
pieces, watching the movements in the town. The Second Corps 
had moved out from the streets past the old burying-ground, 
and was near the gas-works. The right of the line extended 
north of the Plank-road to the monument erected to the mem- 
ory of Washington's mother. 

General French's division of the Second Corps was on the 
right ; General Hancock's was next in the line, with Howard's 
division, as reserve, in the rear. The Second Corps batteries 
were standing in the streets of the town, the officers vainly seek- 
ing positions where they could fire upon the Rebel batteries 
which looked down upon them from Maryee's Hill. 

The Ninth Corps under Wilcox was joined to the Second Corps, 
and occupied the lower end of the town. General Sturgis's 
division was in front, with Whipple's, forming the second line. 
Burns's division was in reserve, near Deep Run. The Rebel 
ammunition trains were in sight far up Hazel Run, and on the 
distant hill there was a group of Rebel officers around Long- 
street's head-quarters. Troops and teapis were passing to and 
fro between Hood's and Pickett's divisions, Wilcox's troops 
were taking position, marching and countermarching, closing 
in solid mass under the shelter of the banks of Hazel Run. 
The right of the Sixth Corps, under General Smith, rested on 
Deep Run, Brooks's division joining Burns's west of the run, 
almost up to the railroad. Howe's division was next in line, 
where the Rebel batteries had full sweep of the broad intervale. 
The ground is a dead level east of the run, extending from 
the river to the wooded hill, where Lee had established his 
head-quarters. Howe's troops were lying along the old Rich- 
mond road, where, beneath the cedars and sodded fences, the 
soldiers found shelter from the shells of the enemy. General 
Newton's division was on the left of Howe's, also lying under 
cover. 

General Gibbon's division of Reynolds's corps, the First, 
was next in line. Meade stood next, directly in front of the 
railroad-crossing at Hamilton's, — the vital point, which, if seized 
and held, would force Lee out of his iitrenehments. Meade 



160 ^ FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

had crossed the old Richmond road, and was facing south ; 
Doubleday's division was on the extreme left, extending from 
Meade's left to the river, facing east, and standing nearly at 
right angles with Meade's division. 

The battle was begun by General Meade, his divisions hav- 
ing been selected to lead the advance towards the railroad- 
crossing. The Bucktails, who had been in nearly all the en- 
gagements on the Peninsula, who first exhibited their valor 
at Drainsville, who were under Hooker at Antietam, were 
first engaged. They moved over the open field beyond Ber- 
nard's, and drove the enemy's skirmishers. The Rebel bat- 
teries — Latham's, Johnson's, Mcintosh's, Pegram's, and 
Crenshaw's — opened a heavy fire. Jackson knew the impor- 
tance of holding the position at Hamilton's, and had massed 
these batteries, which gave a concentrated fire upon the ad- 
vancing force. Reynolds's batteries galloped into position and 
replied ; and so for an hour the pounding of the batteries went 
on along the left. 

Meade's division was composed of three brigades. The First 
was commanded by Colonel Sinclair, and was composed of the 
First Rifles (Bucktails), the First, Second, and Sixth regi- 
ments of the Pennsylvania Reserves. The Second Brigade 
was commanded by Colonel Magilton, and consisted of the 
Third, Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth regiments of the Pennsyl- 
vania Reserves, and the One Hundred and Forty-Second Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers. The Third Brigade was commanded by 
General C. F. Jackson, and was composed of the Fifth, Ninth, 
Tenth, Eleventh, and Twelfth regiments of the Reserves. 
Attached to this division were four batteries of foVir guns each, 
Captain Ransom's Third United States artillery. Lieutenant 
Simpson's, Captain Amsden's, and Captain Cooper's of the 
First Pennsylvania regiment of artillery. Captain Ransom 
and Lieutenant Simpson had twelve-pounders, the others were 
three-inch rifled guns. 

Sinclair's brigade was in the front line, and Magilton's three 
hundred paces in rear of it. Jackson's was in rear of the left 
of the two lines, with his men in column of regiments, about 
one lumdred paces in rear of Magilton's line. These three 
brigades numbered about six thousand men. 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBUEG. 161 

THE ATTACK ON THE LEFT. 

It was just nine o'clock when Meade moved from his position 
near the Bernard House. 

A ravine comes down from the hills and forms the dividing 
line between the Bernard and Smithfield estates. As soon 
as Meade crossed the ravine, he turned the head of his column 
to the south, and moved to the Bowling Green or old Rich- 
mond road, where he was obliged to stop while the pioneers 
could cut away the hedges, level the sod fences, and bridge 
the ditches, in order that his artillery could pass. While 
he was doing this, Stuart's batteries opened fire. They were 
on Meade's left flank and enfiladed his lines, throwing shells 
directly up the road. Meade apprehended an immediate attack 
on his left flank, and swung his second brigade towards Stuart, 
facing east, while his first brigade was still facing south towards 
Hamilton's crossing. His line thus made two sides of a square. 
There was a little knoll on the left of the first brigade. 

" That is the place for you," said Meade to Cooper and Ran- 
som. The batteries were quickly wheeled into the position 
indicated. The gunners had a fair view of the Rebel batteries 
over the level plain. Simpson brought his battery up and 
placed it in front of the Third Brigade, and replied to Pegram. 
Such was the opening of the battle. 

Meanwhile, Doubleday was pushing down by the river. 
When the Rebel batteries opened fire, he brought his own 
into position and gave a cross-fire, which was so severe that 
Stuart's Rockbridge battery was quickly silenced and the guns 
withdrawn. While this was going on, a body of Rebel sharp- 
shooters crept up by the hedges and commenced firing ; but 
two companies of marksmen were sent out by General Jackson's 
brigade, which drove them back. 

An hour passed before Meade was ready to move again. 
Doubleday had advanced towards Stuart, but Gibbon was not 
yet upon Meade's right. 

Stonewall Jackson, seeing that Doubleday was moving down 
the river, thought that it was Franklin's intention to turn his 
riglit flank. D. H. Hill's division, which was close by Hamil- 
ton's liouse, was sent upon the double-quick to help Stuart hold 
11 



162 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

his line.* Tliis weakened his centre. It was at this auspicious 
moment that Meade's division advanced alone to pierce the 
Rebel line. 

It was twelve o'clock, and Franklin's force was in the follow- 
ing position : Doubleday on the left, well down towards Stuart, 
his batteries in full play ; Meade thirty or forty rods beyond the 
Bowling Green road, in the open field ; Gibbon and Newton 
just over the road ; Howe up to it ; Birney and Sickles filing 
out from tlie bridges, a mile in rear of Meade. 

All of Franklin's batteries which were in position, one hun- 
dred and sixteen guns, commenced a rapid fire upon the woods 
beyond the railroad, to protect Meade in his advance. De 
Russey opened with his sixty pieces from the hills north of the 
Rappahannock, throwing shells over the heads of the advancing 
troops. 

Jackson's batteries were equally active. There were twenty- 
one guns by the negro cabins in front of Howe, twelve in front 
of Newton, fourteen in front of Meade, while other single bat- 
teries under Stuart were playing on the left. More than two 
hundred and fifty pieces were roaring as Meade advanced. 

It was a magnificent spectacle ; but it was a moment of 
anxiety to Burnside, who could only judge of the progress of 
the battle by the following despatches, received from time to 
time. 

" Head-Quarters, Franklin's Grand Division, 
December 13, 7.40 A. M. 
General Burnside : 

" General Meade's division is to make the movement from our left ; 
but it is just reported that the enemy's skirmishers are advancing, indi- 
cating an attack upon our position on the left." 

" 9 o'clock A. M. 

" General Meade just moved out. Doubleday supports him. Meade's 
skirmishers engaged, however, at once with enemy's skirmishers. Bat- 
tery opening, on Meade probably, from position on old Richmond road." 

" 11 o'clock A. M. 
" Meade advanced half a mile, and holds on. Infantry of enemy in 
woods in front of extreme left, also in front of Howe. No loss, so far, 
of great importance. General Vinton badly, but not dangerously 
wounded. 

♦Jackson's Report. 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERTCKSBUEG. 163 

" Later. — Reynolds has heen forced to develop his whole Utie. 

" An attack of some force of enemy's troops on our left seems probable, 
as far as can now be judged. Stoneman has hee'n directed to cross one 
division to support our left. Report of cavalry pickets from the other 
side of the river, that enemy's troops were moving down the river on 
this side during the latter part of the night. Howe's pickets reported 
movements in their front, same direction. Still they have a sti'ong 
force well posted, with batteries, there." 

" 12 o'clock M. 

" Birney's division is now getting into position. That done, Reynolds 
will order Meade to advance. Batteries over the river are to shell the 
enemy's position in the woods in front of Reynolds's left. He thinks 
the effect will be to protect Meade's advance. A column of the enemy's 
infantry is passing along the crest of the hills from right to left, as we 
look at it." 

" 12.5 P. M. 

" General Meade's line is advancing in the direction you prescribed 
this morning." 

" 1 o'clock P. M. 

*' Enemy opened a battery on Reynolds, enfilading Meade. Reynolds 
has opened all his batteries on it ; no report yet. Reynolds hotly en- 
gaged at this moment. "Will report in a few moments again." 

"1.15 o'clock P. M. 
" Heavy engagements of infantry. Enemy in force where battery is. 
Meade is assaulting the hill. Will report in a few minutes again." 

"1.25 o'clock P. M. 
" Meade is in the woods in his front ; seems to be able to hold on. 
Reynolds will push Gibbon in, if necessary. The battery and woods 
referred to must be near Hamilton's house. The infantry firing is pro- 
longed and quite heavy. Things look well enough. Men in fine 
spirits." 

"1.40 o'clock P. M. 
" Meade having carried a portion of the enemy's position in the woods, 
we have three hundred prisoners. Enemy's battery on extreme left 
retired. Tough work; men fight well. Gibbon has advanced to 
Meade's right ; men fight well, driving the enemy. Meade has suffered 
severely. Doubleday to Meade's left, — not engaged." 

"2i o'clock P.M. 
" Gibbon and Meade driven back from the woods. Newton gone for- 
ward. Jackson's corps of the enemy attacks on the left. General 



164 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

Gibbon slightly wounded. General Bayard mortally wounded by a 
shell. Things do not look as well on Reynolds's front; still, we 'U 
have new troops in soon." 

" 2.25 p. M. 

" Despatch received. Franklin will do his best. New troops gone 
in. Will report soon again." 

" 3 o'clock P. M. 

" Reynolds seems to be holding his own. Things look better, some- 
what." 

" 3.40 o'clock P. M. 

" Gibbon's and Meade's divisions are badly used up, and I fear another 
advance on the enemy on our left cannot be made this afternoon. 
Doubleday's division will replace Meade's, as soon as it can be collected, 
and, if it be done in time, of course another attack will be made. 

" The enemy are in force in the woods on our left, towards Hamilton's, 
and are threatening the safety of that portion of our line. They seem 
to have detached a portion of their force to our front, where Howe and 
Brooks are now engaged. Brooks has some prisoners, and is down to 
the railroad. Just as soon as the left is safe, our forces here will be 
prepared for a front attack, but it may be too late this afternoon. In- 
deed, we are engaged in front anyhow. Notwithstanding the unpleasant 
items I relate, the morale generally of the troops is good." 

" ^ o'clock P. M. 
" The enemy is still in force on our left and front. An attack on our 
batteries in front has been repulsed. A new attack has just opened on 
our left, but the left is safe, though it is too late to advance either to the 
left or front." 

Such was the intelligence which reached General Burnside of 
the operations on the left. It was not very encouraging. Ho 
expected that Franklin, with sixty thousand men at his dis- 
posal, would sweep Jackson from his position by Hamilton's, and 
thus gain the rear of Lee's left flank, which would make it 
easy for Sumner with the right wing to break through the line 
in rear of the town. Instead of throwing forty thousand men 
upon Jackson, as he could have done, dealing a blow which 
might have broken the Rebel lines, Meade's division alone was 
sent forward. The fire of the batteries was terrific as he ad- 
vanced, and so severe was the cannonade that the Rebel bat- 
teries which had been advanced from the main line were 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 105 

forced to retire, with two caissons blown up and several guns 
disabled.* 

As the troops moved on they came to a hollow before reach- 
ing the railroad. They halted a moment on the edge of the 
depression and corrected their lines. It was a clear field to the 
railroad embankment, behind which they could see the gleam- 
ing of the sunlight on the bayonets of A. P. Hill's division. 

Meade's three brigades were now in line, the first on the 
right, with the Sixth regiment of the Reserves thrown out as 
skirmishers ; the Second in the centre, and the Third on the 
left. 

The direction of Meade's advance brought him against 
Lane's and Archer's brigades. Lane's brigade was composed 
of five North Carolina regiments, — the Seventh, Eighteenth, 
Twenty-Eighth, Thirty-Third, and Thirty-Seventh. Archer's 
was composed of the First, Seventh, and Fourteenth Tennessee, 
and Nineteenth Georgia regiments, and Fifth Alabama battalion. 
They were on the railroad and in the woods. There was a gap 
between the brigades, and there Meade drove the entering 
wedge. It was a fierce and bloody contest along the rail- 
road, in the woods, upon the hillside, in the ravine, on the 
open plain, and on the crest of the ridge. The fourteen guns 
on the hill poured a murderous fire into Meade's left flank. 
The guns by Deep Run, in front of Pender's brigade, enfi- 
laded the line from the right, while in reserve were two full 
brigades, — Thomas's and Gregg's, — to fill the gap. But not- 
withstanding this, Meade, unsupported, charged down the slope, 
through the hollow, up to the railroad, and over it, routing the 
Fourteenth Tennessee and Nineteenth Georgia, of Archer's, and 
the whole of Lane's brigade. With a cheer the Pennsylvanians 
went up the hill, crawling through the thick underbrush, to the 
crest, doubling up Archer and knocking Lane completely out of 
the line. It was as if a Herculean destroyer had crumbled, 
with a sledge-hammer stroke, the key-stone of an arch, leaving 
the whole structure in danger of immediate and irretrievable 
ruin. 

Archer shifted the Fifth Alabama from his right to his left, 

* Lee's Report. 



166 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

but was not able to stop the advancing Yankees. He had 
already sent to Gregg for help, and that officer was putting his 
troops in motion. He had sent to Ewell, who was by Hamil- 
ton's, and Trimble and Lawton were getting ready to move. 
Lane was still running, and the gap was widening between 
Archer and Pender. 

Gibbon ought to have been following Meade, driving up the 
hill through the gap, but he halted at the railroad ; his men 
were loath to move, for Pender's batteries were cutting across 
his flank. Howe and Newton and Brooks were by the Bowling 
Green road, showing no signs of advancing. Sickles and Bir- 
ney were almost back to Bernard's mansion. Doubleday was 
holding the flank against Stuart, and Meade was struggling 
alone. 

The latter officer thus speaks of his position at this moment : — 

" The first brigade to the right advanced several hundred yards over 
cleared ground, driving the enemy's skirraisliers before them till they 
reached the woods in front of the raih-oad, which they entered, driving 
the enemy out of them to the railroad, where they were found strongly 
posted in ditches and behind temporary defences. The brigade (First) 
drove them from there and up the heights in their front. Owing to a 
heav)' fire being received on their right flank, they obliqued over to that 
side, but continued forcing the enemy back till they had crowned the 
crest of the hill, crossed a main road which runs along the crest, and 
reached open ground on the other side, where they were assailed by a 
very severe fire from a larger force in their front, and at the same time 
the enemy opened a battery which completely enfiladed them from the 
right flank. After holding their ground for some time, no support ar- 
riving, they were compelled to fall back to the railroad." * 

Gibbon, the nearest support to Meade, was nearly half a mile 
distant. t That officer was wounded while the fight was hot- 
test, but of the part which he was performing he says : — 

" As soon as the enemy's guns slackened fire, I saw General Meade's 
troops moving forward into action, and I at once sent orders to my lead- 
ing brigade to advance and engage the enemy. Shortly afterwards I 
ordered up another brigade to support the first. The fire was very 

* General Meade's Testimony, Conduct of the War, Part I. p. 696. 
t See map accompanying General Franklin's reply to Report of Committee on 
Conduct of the Wat-. 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 167 

heavy from the enemy's infantry, and I ordered up the Third Brigade 
and formed it in column on the right of my line, and directed them to 
take the position with the bayonet, having previously given that order 
to the leading brigade. But the general commanding that brigade told 
me that the noise and confusion was such that it was impossible to get 
the men to charge, or to get them to hear any order to charge. The 
Third Brigade — my last brigade — went in and took the position with 
the bayonet, and captured a considerable number of prisoners. During 
the fighting of the infantry I was establishing the batteries which be- 
longed to my division in position to assist in the assault. I had just 
received the report of the success of this Third Brigade, when shortly 
after I saw a regiment of Rebel infantry come out on the left of my 
line between myself and General Meade. I rode up towards a battery 
that was on their left, and directed them to open fire upon that regi- 
ment. I was riding back towards the right of my line, when I was 
wounded, and left the field about half past two o'clock in the afternoon, 
I think."* 

It will be seen by Franklin's despatches that Meade had 
broken the line before Gibbon was engaged. At 1.15 P. M. 
he telegraphed to Burnside, " Meade is assaulting the hill." 
Ten minutes later, at 1.25 P. M., " Reynolds ivill push Cribbon 
in if necessary.''^ At 1.40 P. M., "Meade has carried a por- 
tion of the enemy's position in the woods. We have three 
hundred prisoners. Gibbon has advanced to Meade's right." 

It was in this advance to the railroad, when Gibbon came 
in collision with Pender's and Thomas's brigades, that Gibbon 
was wounded. 

While this was going on in front, the Second and Third 
Brigades of Meade were enveloping Gregg's brigade of South 
Carolinians, which had been hurried up to retrieve the disaster 
to the line. There was a short but bloody contest. Three hun- 
dred South Carolinians fell in that struggle, including their 
commander. General Gregg, who was mortally wounded. 

It was a critical moment with Stonewall Jackson. The whole 
of Ewell's division, under the command of General Early, was 
brought up to regain the ground. Lawton's brigade came 
first upon the Pennsylvanians, followed by Hayes's, Trimble's, 
and Field's brigades, with Early's own, Commanded by Colonel 
Walker. 

* Testimony, Conduct of the War, Part I. p. 715. 



168 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. . [DeC. 

Had Newton, Howe, Brooks, Sickles, and Birncy been near 
at hand, or had Gibbon been pushed promptly and effectively 
to Meade's support, the record of that bloody day would have 
been far different from what it is. But they were not there. 
They had not even been ordered to advance ! 

Unable to withstand the onset of the whole of Jackson's 
force (with the exception of a portion of Taliferro's reserves), 
Meade was obliged to fall back, and give up the position won 
by such heroic valor. As his troops went to the rear, they met 
Ward's brigade of Birney's division advancing. The Rebels 
were in full pursuit. Birney wheeled his batteries into position, 
and opened with canister, and the Rebels fled to the shelter of 
the woods. 

The divisions of Howe and Newton and Sickles were slightly 
engaged later in the day, but only in repulsing a second 
advance of the Rebels. The attack which Meade had opened so 
gallantly, and which was attended with such good success, had 
failed. Less than ten thousand men had broken the enemy's 
line, and opened the way to victory. Of the sixty thousand 
men at Franklin's disposal not more than sixteen or eighteen 
thousand were engaged during the day,* and of those not more 
than eight thousand at any one time. 

General Franklin, in vindicating himself from censure for 
not attacking with a larger force and more vigorously, falls 
back on the clause in Burnside's order, " to attack with one 
division at least, and to keep it well supported." It would 
have been better if Burnside had given explicit instructions. 
There must be some latitude allowed to subordinates, but there 
are very few men who, without particular instructions, can 
enter fully into' the plans and intentions of the commander- 
in-chief. Franklin was constitutionally sluggish in his move- 
ments. The attack on the left required boldness, energy, and 
perseverance. Sumner was the man for the place. Bui-nside 
was peculiarly unfortunate in the selection of commanders to 
carry out the particular features of his plan ; but Sumner hav- 
ing been first to arrive at Falmouth, and having taken position, 
it was not easy to make the change. 

While the battle was raging on the left I rode over the plain. 

* Testimony of Meade and other officers, Conduct of the War. 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 169 

The cavalry under General Bayard was drawn up in rear of 
the grove surrounding the fine old Bernard mansion. General 
Bayard was sitting at the foot of a tree, waiting for orders, and 
watching the advancing columns of Meade and Gibbon. There 
was a group of officers around General Franklin. Howe's 
and Newton's divisions were lying down to avoid the Rebel 
shells, hurled from the heights beyond the railroad. All 
of Franklin's guns were in play. The earth shook with the 
deep concussion. Suddenly the Rebel batteries opened with 
redoubled fury. A shot went over my head, a second fell in 
front of my horse, and ploughed a furrow in the ground ; a 
third exploded at my right, a "tburth went singing along the 
line of a regiment lying prostrate on the earth. McCartney's, 
Williston's, Hexamer's, Amsden's, Cooper's, Ransom's, and a 
dozen other batteries were replying. Meade was driving up 
the hill. Wounded men were creeping, crawling, and hobbling 
towards the hospital. Some, slightly wounded, were uttering 
fearful groans, while others, made of sterner stuff, though torn 
and mangled, bore their pains without a murmur. 

A soldier, with his arms around the necks of two of his com- 
rades, was being brought in. " dear ! Lord ! my foot is 
torn all to pieces ! " he cried. 

There was a hole in the toe of his boot where the .ball had 
entered. 

"•It has gone clear through to the heel, and smashed all the 
bones. dear ! dear ! I shall have to have it cut off ! " 
he cried, moaning piteously as his comrades laid him upon the 
ground to rest. 

" Better cut off your boot before your foot swells." 

"Yes, — do so." 

I slipped my knife through the leather, and took the boot from 
his foot. The ball had passed through his stocking. There 
was but a drop or two of blood visible. I cut off the stocking, 
and the bullet was lying between his toes, having barely broken 
the skin. 

" I reckon I sha'n't help lug you any farther," said one of 
the men who had borne him. 

" Wal, if I had known that it was n't any worse than that I 
would n't have had my boot cut off," said the soldier. 



170 FOUR YEARS OF FIGnilNG. [DeC. 

Returning to the Bernard mansion, I saw a commotion 
among the cavalry, and learned that their commander was 
mortally wounded. He had been struck by a solid shot while 
sitting by the tree ; and they were bearing him to the hospital. 
He was a brave and gallant officer. 

THE ATTACK ON THE RIGHT. 

But while this was transpiring on the left there was a terri- 
ble sacrifice of life at the foot of Maryee's Hill. Soon after 
noon French's and Hancock's divisions of the Second Corps, 
with Sturgis's division of the Ninth, advanced over the open 
field in rear of the town to attack the heights. Officers walked 
along the lines giving the last words. " Advance and drive 
them out with the bayonet ! " were the orders. 

The fifteen thousand in a compact body move to the edge 
of the plateau. The hills are aflame. All of Longstreet's guns 
are thundering. Shells burst in the ranks. The Rebel skir- 
mishers, concealed in the houses and behind fences, fire a volley 
and fall back to the main line. 

Onward move the divisions. We who behold them from the 
rear, although we know that death stands ready to reap an 
abundant harvest, feel the blood rushing with quickened flow 
through our veins, when we see how gallantly they move 
forward, firing no shot in return. 

Now a sheet of flame bursts from the sunken road, and 
another from half-way up the slope, and yet another from the top 
of the hill. Hundreds fall ; but still on, nearer to the hill 
rolls the wave. Still, still it flows on ; but we can see that it is 
losing its power, and, though advancing, it will be broken. It 
begins to break. It is no longer a wave, but scattered rem- 
nants, thrown back like rifts of foam. A portion of Sturgis's 
division reaches the hollow in front of the hill and settles 
into it. 

The Eleventh New Hampshire, commanded by Colonel 
Harriman, is in the front line. They are new troops, and this 
is their first battle ; but they fight so gallantly that they win 
the admiration of their general. 

" See!" said Sturgis to an old regiment which quailed before 
the fire. " See thc'Eleventh New Hampshire! a new regiment, 
standing like posts driven into the ground." 



1862.] BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG. 171 

Hancock and French, unable to find any shelter, are driven 
back upon the town. The attack and repulse have not occupied 
fifteen minutes. 

It is a sad sight, that field thickly strown with dying and 
dead men. But in battle there is no time for the wringing of 
hands over disaster. The bloody work must go on. 

Sturgis is in the hollow, so near the hill that the Rebel 
batteries on the crest cannot be depressed sufficiently to drive 
him out. He is within close musket-shot of Cobb's brigade, 
lying behind the stone-wall at the base of the hill. Sturgis' s 
men lie down, load and fire deliberately, watching their oppor- 
tunity to pick off the gunners on the hill. In vaiix are all the 
efforts of Longstreet to dislodge them. Solid shot, shells, can- 
ister, and shrapnel are thrown towards the hollow, but without 
avail. A solitary oak-tree near is torn and broken by the artil- 
lery fire, and pitted with musket-balls, and the ground is fur- 
rowed with the deadly missiles ; but the men keep their position 
through the weary hours. The division is composed of two 
brigades, — Nagles's, containing the Sixth and Ninth New Hamp- 
shire, Seventh Rhode Island, Forty-Eighth Pennsylvania, and 
Second Maryland ; and Ferrero's, containing the Twenty-First 
and Thirty-Fifth Massachusetts, Eleventh New Hampshire, 
Fifty-First Pennsylvania, and Fifty-First New York. 

A second attempt is made upon the hill. Humphrey's divis- 
ion, composed of Tyler's and Briggs's brigade of Pennsylvan- 
ians, nearly all new troops, leads the advance, followed closely 
by Morrell's division of veterans. The lines move steadily 
over the field, under cover of the batteries which have been 
brought up and planted in the streets. Sturgis pours a con- 
stant stream of fire upon the sunken road. Thus aided, they 
reach the base of the hill in front of Maryee's, deliver a few 
volleys, and then with thinned ranks retire once more to the 
shelter of the ridge. 

The day is waning. Franklin has failed. He telegraphs 
that it is too late to make another attack on the left. Not so 
does Sumner think on the right. He is a brave old man, fear- 
less in battle, counting human life of little value if victory can 
be won by its sacrifice. He walks to and fro by the Lacey 
House like a chained lion. Burnside will* not let him cross 



172 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

the river. Time has ploughed deep furrows on his face. His 
hair is white as the driven snow. He is grim and gruff; his 
voice is deep, and he has rough words for those who falter in 
duty ; but he has a tender heart. He dotes upon his son, and 
calls him " Sammy " familiarly. He cannot bear to have him 
gone long from his side, but yet is ready to send him into the 
thickest of the fight. He cannot see the day lost without 
another struggle, and orders a third attack. 

Humphrey, Morrell, Getty, Sykes, and Howard, or portions 
of their divisions, are brought up. The troops have been under 
arms from early daylight. They have had no food. All day 
they have been exposed to the fire of the Rebel batteries, and 
have lost heavily. Brooks's division of the Sixth Corps moves 
up Deep Run to engage in the last attack. All the batteries 
on both sides of the river are once more brought into action. 
Getty moves up Hazel Run to take the Rebels in flank, who 
are protected by the sunken road at the base of the hill. 

THE LAST ATTACK. 

It is sunset. The troops move out once more upon the open 
plain, and cross the field with a cheer. The ground be- 
neath them is already crimson with the blood of their fallen 
comrades. They reach the base of the hill. Longstreet brings 
down all his reserves. The hillside, the plain, the crest of 
the ridge, the groves and thickets, the second range of hills 
beyond Maryee's, the hollow, the sunken road, are bright 
flashes. .Two hundred cannon strike out fierce defiance, — 
forty thousand muskets and rifles flame ! 

The Rebels are driven from the stone-walls, and the sunken 
road, and the rifle-pit midway the hill. The blue wave mounts 
all but to the top of the crest. It threatens to overwhelm the 
Rebel ba,tteries. But we who watch it behold its power de- 
creasing. Men begin to come down the hill singly and in 
squads, and at length in masses. The third and last attempt 
has failed. The divisions return, leaving the plain and the 
hillside strown with thousands of brave men who have fallen 
in the ineffectual struggle. 

There was no fighting on Sunday, the 14th, but General 
Burnside was preparing to make another attack. He had eigh- 



1862.] BATTLE OF FEEDERICKSBUKG. 1T3 

teen of his old regiments in the Ninth Corps, who wonld go 
wherever he sent them. He thought that they would carry 
the heights. 

" I hope," said General Sumner, " that you will desist from 
an attack. I do not know of any general officer who approves 
it, and I think it will prove disastrous to the army." 

The advice was followed, and it was then decided to withdraw 
the army. 

The wind on Tuesday night blew a gale from the southwest. 
Hay and straw were laid upon the bridges to deaden the sound 
of the artillery wheels. It began to rain before morning ; and 
the Rebels, little dreaming of what was taking place, remained 
in their quarters. 

Before daylight the whole army had recrossed the river, and 
the bridges were taken up. Great were their amazement and 
wonder when the Rebels looked down from the heights and 
saw the Union army once more on the northern bank, beyond 
the reach of their guns. 

General Burnside lost about ten thousand men, while the loss 
of the Rebels was about five thousand. The defeat was dis- 
heartening to the army. But though repulsed, the soldiers felt 
that they were not beaten ; they had failed because General 
Burnside's plans had not been heartily entered into by some of 
the officers. But the patriotic flame burned as brightly as 
ever, and they had no thought of giving up the contest. 



174 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE WINTER AT FALMOUTH. 

After the battle of Fredericksburg, both armies prepared for 
the winter. Two great cities of log-huts sprang up in the dense 
forests on both sides of the Rappahannock, peopled by more 
than two. hundred thousand men. It was surprising to see 
how quickly the soldiers made themselves comfortable in huts 
chinked with mud and roofed with split shingles. These rude 
dwellings had a fireplace at one end, doors hung on leathern 
hinges, and bunks one above another, like berths in a steam- 
boat. 

There the men told stories, played checkers and cards, read 
the newspapers, wrote letters to their friends far away, and 
kept close watch all the while upon the Rebels. 

But there were dark days and dreary nights. It tried their 
endurance and patriotism to stand all night upon picket, with 
the north-wind howling around them and the snow whirling 
into drifts. There were rainy days, and weeks of mud, when 
there was no drilling, and when there was nothing to do. Then 
chaplains, with books and papers under their arms, were wel- 
comed everywhere. General Howard thus bore testimony to 
the labors of one who was not a chaplain, but an agent of the 
American Tract Society from Boston, — Rev. Mr. Alvord : — 

" There is a great and good man, — great because he is good and 
because he is practical, — who has followed the Army of the Potomac 
from the beginning. He takes his papers, and goes himself and circu- 
lates them as far as he is able, and, by the agency of others, gets them 
into nearly every regiment in the army. And you should see the 
soldiers cluster around him ! When his wagon drives up in front of a 
regiment, the soldiers pour out with life, circle round him, and beg for 
books and tracts, — for anything he has. Some of them want papers to 
read for themselves, and others to select pieces out of them to send 
home. I could hardly believe it, that there was such eagerness on the 



1862.] THE WINTER AT FALMOUTH. 175 

part of soldiers for such reading until I saw it with my own eyes. 
' Give me a paper,' ' Give me a paper,' ' Give me a tract,' ' Give me a 
book,' is the impatient cry. Very frequently ladies have sent tracts 
and books to my tent, and on the Sabbath-day I have taken them myself 
to distribute, and I have scarcely ever had to ask a soldier to receive 
one of them. Indeed, if you give to one or two, the others will feel 
jealous if neglected." * 

Said a chaplain : — 

" 1 am besieged by those who want something good to read. In my 
rounds I am followed at my elbow. ' Please, sir, can you spare me 
one ? ' They hail me from a distance : ' Are you coming down this 
way, chaplain ? ' It is a pleasant thing to pause in these travels through 
the parish and look back upon the white waves that rise in- the wake of 
one's course. Sjjorts are hushed, swearing is charmed away, all are 
reading, — Sabbath has come." 

In some regiments, where the officers co-operated with chap- 
lains to elevate the morals of men, few oaths were heard. 

One day General Howard started out with a handful of 
leaflets on swearing, with the intention of giving one to every 
man- whom he heard using profane language. He went from 
regiment to regiment and from brigade to brigade ofdiis division, 
and returned to his tent without hearing an oath. 

" I have been all through my division to-day," he said, 
" visiting the hospitals, and I have n't heard a single man 
swear. Is n't it strange ? " 

One of the citizens of Falmouth came to General Howard for 
a guard. 

" You favored secession, I suppose," said the General. 

" I stuck for the Union till Virginia went out of the Union. 
I had to go with her." 

" You have a son in the Rebel army." 

" Yes, sir ; but he enlisted of his own accord." 

" The soldiers steal your chickens, you say ? " 

" Yes, they take everything they can lay their hands upon, 
and I want a guard to protect my property." 

" If you and all your neighbors had voted against seces- 
sion, you would not need a guard. No, sir, you can't have 

* General Howard's Address at Washington. 



176 ^four^^^W'figMtiW. ^^ [Dec. 

one. "When you have given as much to your country as I 
have I will give you one, but not till then," said the Gen- 
eral, pointing to his empty sleeve. He lost his right arm at 
Fair Oaks. 

It was a gloomy winter, but the Sanitary and Christian 
Commissions gave their powerful aid towards maintaining 
the health and morals and spirits of the army. The Christian 
Commission opened six stations, from which they dispensed 
supplies of books and papers and food for the sick, not regu- 
larly furnished by the medical department. Eeligious meet- 
ings were held nightly, conducted by the soldiers, marked by 
deep solemnity. Veterans who had passed through all the 
trials and temptations of a soldier's life gave testimony of the 
peace and joy they had in believing in Jesus. Others asked 
what they should do to obtain the same comfort. Many who 
had faced death unflinchingly at Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, 
Malvern, and Antietam, who had been ever indifferent to the 
claim of religion, became like little children as they listened 
to their comrades singing, 

" Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
• Let me bide myself in thee." 

It was not sentimentalism. A soldier who has been through 
a half-dozen battles is the last person in the world to indulge 
in sentiment. He above all men understands reality. Thus led 
by the sweet music and the fervent prayers of their comrades, 
they rejoiced in the hope that they had found forgiveness of 
sins through the blood of the Son of God. 

At Falmouth, an old tobacco-warehouse on the bank of the 
river, within hail of the Rebel pickets, was cleared of rubbish, 
the broken ceiling and windows covered with canvas, a rude 
pulpit erected, where on Sabbath afternoons and every evening 
meetings were held, a Sabbath school was organized, also a 
day school. One of the soldiers established a school for the 
instruction of the children of the village. Often in the calm twi- 
light of the mild winter days the Rebel picket pacing his beat 
upon the opposite bank stopped, and leaning upon his gun, 
listened to the hymns of devotion wafted on the evening air. 

He could have sent a bullet whistling through the building, 



1862.] THE WINTER AT FALMOUTH. 177 

but there was a mutual understanding among the pickets not 
to fire, and so the meetings were undisturbed. 

In the Forty-Fourth New York Regiment, known as the 
Ellsworth Avengers, were two young soldiers whose hearts 
were woven together with Christian zeal. They had no chap- 
lain ; but they established a prayer-meeting, holding it beside 
a stump, in a retired place. They obtained permission of the 
colonel to build a log chapel. They had to draw the logs a 
mile, but they had faith and energy, and laid out a building 
sixteen by thirty-two feet square. Rev. Mr. Alvord, the agent 
of a Tract Society, gives the following account of their labors. 

" The first logs were heavy, and hardly any one to help. Their plan 
at first was not very definite. They would lay down a log and then look 
and plan by the eye. Another log was wearily drawn and put on. The 
crowd came round to quiz and joke. ' Are you to have it finished be- 
fore the world ends ? ' ' Fixing up to leave ? ' ' How does your saloon 
get on ? ' The more serious, in pity, tried to discourage. There was 
* already an order out to move ; what 's the use ? ' ' Who wants meet- 
ings ? ' But these two Christian boys (S. and L.) toiled on like Noah, 
amidst the scoffs of the multitude. The edifice slowly rose ; volunteers 
lent a hand. The Christian men of the regiment became interested. 
(There were forty or fifty in all, eighteen or twenty of whom at length 
aided in the work.) A sufficient height was reached, and first a roof 
of brush, and afterwards of patched ponchos, was put on, and meetings 
began, — or rather they began -when it was only an open pen. In a 
few days Burnside's advance came, and the regiment left for the field. 
In their absence, plunderers stripped the cabin, and carried off a por- 
tion of its material ; but on the return of our troops the same busy 
hands and hearts of faith were again at work. A sutler gave them 
the old canvas cover of his large tent, which be was about to cut up 
to shelter his horses with, and lo, \i precisely fitted the roof of the meet- 
ing-house, — not an inch to spare ! 

" Well, there it stands, to his glory and the credit of their persever- 
ance. (It took about one hundred logs to build it.) You should have 
seen their eyes shine, as, here in my tent for tracts, they were one day 
giving me its history, and you should have been with us last evening. 
The little pulpit made of empty box boards, two chandeliers suspended 
from the ridge-pole of cross-sticks, wreathed with ivy, and in the sock- 
eted ends four adamant candles, each burning brilliantly. Festoons 
of ivy and ' dead men's fingers ' (a species of woodbine called by this 
name), looped gracefully along the sides of the room, and in the centre 
12 



178 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DcC. 

from chandelier to chandelier, — their deep green, with the fine brown 
bark of the pine logs, and white canvas above, striped with its rafters, 
sweetly contrasting. Below, a perfect pack of soldiers, in the 'Aveng- 
ers' ' uniform, squatted low upon the pole seats, beneath which was a 
carpet of evergreen sprays, — all silent, uncovered, respectful ; as the 
service opened, you could have heard a pin fall. There was nothing 
here to make a noise. Pew-doors, psalm-books, rustling silks, or 
groined arches reverberating the slightest sound of hand or footfall, 
there were none. Only the click of that wooden latch, and a gliding 
figure, like a stealthy vidette, squeezing in among the common mass, 
indicated the late comer. The song went up from the deep voices of 
men, — do you know the effect ? — and before our service closed, tears 
rolled down from the faces of men. To be short, everj"^ evening of 
the week this house is now filled with some service, four of which are 
religious. When they can have no preaching, these soldiers meet for 
prayer. 

" I stole in one evening, lately, when they were at these devotions ; 
prayer after prayer successively was offered, in earnest, humblest tones, 
before rising from their knees ; the impenitent looking on solemnly. 
Officers were present and took part, and seldom have I seen such mani- 
fest tokens that God is about to appear in power. Opposition there is 
none. The whole regiment looks upon the house now as a matter of 
pride, — encourage all the meetings. It is attractive to visitors, and, 
when not used for religious purposes, is occupied by lyceum debates, 
singing clubs, &c., &c. How those two Christian boys do enjoy it ! 
Said one of them to me, ' We have been paid for all our labor a thou- 
sand times over.' " 

Thus, fighting, marching, singing, praying, teaching the igno- 
rant, trusting in God, never wavering in their faith of the ulti- 
mate triumph of right, they passed the weary winter. 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 179 



CHAPTER XIII. 

CHANCELLORSVILLE. 

General Burnside having accepted the command of the army 
with reluctance, was relieved at his own request, and General 
Hooker was appointed his successor. He made a thorough 
reorganization. The system of grand divisions was abolished, 
and the corps organization adopted. The First Corps was com- 
manded by General Sickles, the Fifth by General Meade, the 
Sixth by General Sedgwick, the Eleventh by General Howard, 
and the Twelfth by General Slocum. The cavalry was consoli- 
dated into a single corps, under General Stoneman. General 
Hooker intended to use the cavalry as it had not been used 
up to that time. 

The vigor manifested by General Hooker in the reorganiza- 
tion, and the confidence of the soldiers in him as a commander, 
gave new hope to the army. He reduced the number of wag- 
ons in the trains, and informed the officers that they would be 
allowed only a limited amount of baggage. He issued orders 
that the troops should have rations of fresh bread, cabbages, 
and onions, in abundance. Merit was commended. Officers 
and men who had proved themselves efficient were allowed 
leave of absence, before the opening of the spring campaign. 
Regiments which had shown incapacity and loose discipline 
were allowed no favors. Only eleven regiments in the whole 
army were highly commended. Some were severely censured 
as wanting those qualities which make a good regiment. This 
administration of affiiirs soon produced a perceptible change in 
the spirits of the men. 

There were frequent rains, which prevented any movement 
during the winter ; but General Hooker was not idle. He was 
obtaining information, from scouts and spies, of Lee's position 
and the number of his troops. He kept his designs so well to 
himself that even his most trusted officers were not aware of 



180 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

them. But his plan embraced three features : a cavahy move- 
ment imder Stoneman toAvards Richmond, from the Upper Rap- 
pahannock, to destroy Lee's communications, burning bridges 
and supplies ; the deploy of a portion of the army down the 
river to attract Lee's attention; and, lastly, a sudden march of 
the main body up the river, to gain a position near Chancellors- 
ville, southwest of Fredericksburg, which would compel Lee 
to come out and fight, or evacuate the place. If he gained the 
position, he could stand on the defensive and wait Lee's move- 
ments. He decided that Lee should be the attacking party. 

Lee had sent two divisions of Longstreet's corps under that 
officer to North Carolina, and Hampton's cavalry was recruiting 
south of the James River. It was a favorable opportunity to 
strike a heavy blow. 

On the 27th of April the Eleventh Corps, under Howard, and 
the Twelfth, under Slocum, at half past five in the morning 
started for Kelley's Ford by the Ilartwood Church road. 

The Third, under Sickles, and the Fifth, under Meade, moved 
at the same time, by a road nearer the river, in the same direc- 
tion. The Second, under Couch, went towards United States 
Ford, which is only three miles from Chancellorsville. A dense 
fog hung over the river, concealing the movement. The Elev- 
enth, Twelfth, and Fifth Corps marched fourteen miles during 
the day, and bivouacked at four o'clock in the afternoon a mile 
west of Hartwood Church. To Lee, who looked across the 
river from Fredericksburg, there was no change in the appear- 
ance of things on the Stafford hills. The camps of the Yankees 
were still there, dotting the landscape, teams were moving to 
and fro, soldiers were at drill, and the smoke of camp-fires was 
curling through the air. 

During the evening of the 27th the pontoons belonging 
to the Sixth Corps were taken from the wagons, carried by 
the soldiers down to the river, and put into the water so noise- 
lessly that the Rebel pickets stationed on the bank near Ber- 
nard's house had no suspicion of what was goifig on. The 
boats were manned by Russell's brigade. At a given signal 
they were pushed rapidly across the stream, and, before the 
Rebel pickets were aware of the movement, they found them- 
selves prisoners. The First Corps went a mile farther down, to 



1863.] CHANCELLOESVILLE. 181 

Southfield. It was daylight before the engineers of this corps 
could get their boats into the water. The Rebel sharpshooters 
who were lying in rifle-pits along the bank commenced a 
deadly fire. To silence them, Colonel Warner placed forty pieces 
of artillery on the high bank overlooking the river, under cover 
of which the boats crossed, and the soldiers, leaping ashore, 
charged up the bank and captured one hundred and fifty Reb- 
els. The engineers in a short time had both bridges complet- 
ed. General Wadsworth's division of the First Corps was the 
first to cross the lower bridge. General Wadsworth had be- 
come impatient, and, instead of waiting for the completion of the 
structure, swam his horse across the stream. General Brooks, 
of the Sixth Corps, was the first to cross the bridge at Bernard's. 

It was now five o'clock in the morning. There was great 
commotion in Fredericksburg. A courier dashed into town on 
horseback, shouting, " The Yankees are crossing down the 
river."* The church-bells were rung. The people who had 
returned to the town after the battle of the 13th of December 
sprang from their beds. They went out and stood upon Mar- 
yee's Hill, looked across the river, and saw the country alive 
with troops. 

"All through the day," wrote the correspondent of the 
Richmond Examiner^ " the Yankee balloons were in the air at 
a great height, and the opposite side of the river, as far as the 
eye could reach, was blue with their crowded columns." f 

The drummers beat the long-roll. " Fall in ! fall in ! " was 
the cry, and the whole army was quickly under arms. The 
movement was a surprise to General Lee. 

The crossing of the First and Sixth Corps was slow and de- 
liberate. "They continued to cross," says the same writer, 
"until two o'clock P. M., — infantry, artillery, and wagons. 
They swarmed irregularly over the fields and bluffs, of which 
they had taken possession, seeming not to have fallen into 
ranks. About five P. M. a light rain commenced, when they 
pitched their tents, and seemed to make themselves at home." 

In order to deceive General Lee, only Wadsworth's and 
Brooks's divisions were sent over in the forenoon ; but portions 

• Letter to Richmond Examiner. t Kichmond Examiner, May 1st, 1863. 



182. FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

of the other divisions, which had been concealed behind a belt 
of woods, were put in motion, and marched along the crest of 
the ridge, through an open field, in sight of the Rebels, as 
though on their way down the river ; but, instead of crossing, 
were marched up through a gully around the hill to their start- 
ing-point, and were again moved over the same ground, — a 
circus-march, calculated to deceive the Rebels into thinking 
that the whole army was moving in that direction, A part 
of Jackson's corps had been lying at Shinker's Neck, several 
miles below Fredericksburg, which Lee ordered to Hamilton's 
crossing, occupying the same position that it held in the first 
battle. 

It was night before the remainder of the Sixth Corps crossed 
the stream, while the other two divisions of the First Corps 
still remained on the northern bank. Lee could not compre- 
hend this new state of affairs. The night of the 28th passed, 
and no advance was made by the Sixth Corps. The morning of 
the 29th saw them in the same position, evidently in no haste 
to make an attack. 

Meanwhile the main body of the army was making a rapid 
march up the river. The Eleventh Corps reached Kelley's Ford, 
twenty-eight miles above Falmouth, at half past four in the 
afternoon. The pontoons arrived at six o'clock. Four hun- 
dred men went over in the boats, and seized the Rebel rifle-pits, 
capturing a few prisoners, who were stationed there to guard 
the Ford. As soon as the bridge was completed, the troops 
began to cross. The Seventeenth Pennsylvania cavalry preced- 
ed the infantry, pushed out on the road leading to Culpepper, 
and encountered a detachment of Stuart's cavalry. 

On the morning of the 29th, the Twelfth Corps, followed by 
the Eleventh, made a rapid march to Germanna Ford, on the 
Rapidan, while the Fifth Corps took the road leading to Ely's 
Ford. When the Twelfth Corps arrived at Germanna Ford at 
three o'clock in the afternoon, the Rebels were discovered build- 
ing a bridge. About one hundred of them were taken pris- 
oners. Instead of waiting for the pontoons to be laid, the 
Twelfth forded the stream, which was deep and swift ; but the 
men held their cartridge-boxes over their heads, and thus kept 
their powder dry. 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 183 

It was not till the afternoon of the 29th that Lee understood 
Hooker's movement. At sunset Stuart reported that a heavy 
column of Yankees was crossing the Germanna Ford, that there 
was another at Ely's, and still another at United States Ford. 
Lee saw that the routes, after crossing the Rapidan, converged 
near Chancellors ville, from whence several roads led to the rear 
of his position at Fredericksburg. 

On the morning of the 30th, Hooker's army was in the fol- 
lowing position : The Eleventh and Twelfth Corps at Germanna 
Ford, moving southeast ; the Fifth Corps at Ely's Ford, moving 
south ; the Second Corps, followed by the Third, at United 
States Ford, marching southwest ; the First Corps passing up 
the river from its position below Fredericksburg, making a 
rapid march to join the Second Corps at United States Ford ; 
the Sixth Corps, meanwhile, lying inactive on the plain by Ber- 
nard's house. 

The movement was admirably made, each corps coming into 
position at the appointed place and time, showing that the plan 
had been well matured in the mind of the commander-in-chief. 

Early on the morning of the 30th the Eleventh Corps, fol- 
lowed by the Twelfth, moved from Germanna Ford down the 
Stevensburg plank-road to the Old Wilderness Tavern, which is 
about a mile and a half west of Chancellorsville. The latter 
place, at the time of the battle, consisted of one brick house. 
The country around Chancellorsville is called " the Wilder- 
ness." Years ago a considerable portion of the land was 
cleared, but the system of cultivation carried on by the Vir- 
ginians quickly exhausted the soil, and the fields were left to 
grow up again to bushes. A short distance beyond the old 
tavern is Dowdal's Tavern, near the junction of the Stevensburg 
plank-road, and the Orange turnpike, leading to Gordonsville. 
Hunting Run has its head-waters near the Stevensburg plank- 
road, and flows north to the Rapidan. There is an old saw-mill 
on the creek, which was used as a hospital by the Twelfth 
Corps during the battle. Near Dowdal's tavern is an old 
church, and on the right-hand side of the road, as we go to- 
ward Chancellorsville from Dowdal's, there is a cleared field 
on elevated land, which was the centre of Hooker's line at the 
beginning of the battle. Several roads diverge from Chancel- 



184 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

lorsville, — the Orange and Fredericksburg plank-road and the 
Gordonsville turnpike, both leading to Fredericksburg ; also 
roads to United States and Ely's Fords ; also one leading south 
across Scott's Run. 

At noon of the 30th the Eleventh Corps reached its assigned 
position, between the Germanna road and Dowdal's tavern, 
forming the right flank of Hooker's line. The Tliird Corps, 
which had crossed at Ely's Ford, came down througli the woods 
across Hunting Run, and formed on the left of the Eleventh, 
by the tavern. The Twelfth Corps filed past the Eleventh, 
along the Stevensburg road, and the Tliird Corps passed Chan- 
cellorsville, and moved almost to Tabernacle Church, on the 
Orange and Fredericksburg plank-road. The Second Corps, 
having crossed at United States Ford, came into position a mile 
or more in rear of the Eleventh and Third, while the Fifth 
moved up and formed a line facing southeast, reaching from 
Chancellorsville to Scott's Dam on the Rappahannock, a mile 
and a half north of Chancellorsville. 

Stuart, commanding the Rebel cavalry, had skirmished with 
the Eleventh Corps on its march, but when the Third, which 
crossed at Ely's, reached Chancellorsville, Stuart found that he 
was cut off from direct communication with Lee, and was obliged 
to move to Todd's Tavern and Spottsylvania Court-House, to 
put himself in connection with the infantry of the Rebel army. 
Lee was still undecided what to do, but finally determined to 
leave Early's division of Jackson's corps, and Barksdale's 
brigade of McLaw's division, and a part of the reserve artil- 
lery under Pendleton, to hold Fredericksburg, and move with 
the rest of the army to Chancellorsville and fight Hooker. He 
had already sent Anderson's division to watch the movement. 
Slocum's skirmishers met Anderson's at Chancellorsville and 
drove them back to Tabernacle Church. Anderson, finding 
that Slocum was advancing, formed across the roads, and was 
in this position at dark on the niglit of the 30th. 

On the morning of the 1st of May the whole Rebel army, 
except what was left to watch Sedgwick, was put in motion, 
with the intention of making a direct attack. Anderson ad- 
vanced upon Slocum, who fell back under instructions to Chan- 
cellorsville, and filled the gap between the Third and Fifth. 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 185 

Lee followed, intending to give battle, but he found Hooker in 
a position of such strength that he hesitated. Lee says : — 

" The enemy had assumed a position of great natural strength, sur- 
rounded on all sides by a dense forest, filled with tangled undergrowth, 
in the midst of which breastworks of logs had been constructed, with 
trees felled in front so as to form an impenetrable abatis. His artillery 
swept the few narrow roads by which his position could be approached 
from the front, and commanded the adjacent woods. The left of his 
line extended from Chancellorsville towards the Rappahannock, cover- 
ing the Bark-Mill Ford, where he communicated with the north bank 
of the river by a pontoon bridge. His right stretched westward along 
the Germanna road more than two miles. 

" Darkness was approaching before the extent and strength of his 
lines could be ascertained, and, as the nature of the country rendered it 
hazardous to attack by night, our troops were halted, and formed in 
line of battle in front of Chancellorsville, at right angles to the plank- 
road It was evident that a direct attack upon the enemy would 

be attended with great difficulty and loss, in view of the strength of his 
position and his superiority in numbers. It was therefore resolved to 
endeavor to turn his right flank, and gain his rear, leaving a force in 
front to hold him in check, and conceal the movement. The execution 
of this plan was intrusted to Lieutenant- General Jackson, with his 
three divisions." 

This movement of Lee's was very bold and hazardous. It 
divided his army into three parts, — one part watching the 
Sixth Corps at Fredericksburg, another between Chancellors- 
ville and Fredericksburg, and the force under Jackson, accom- 
panied by Stuart's cavalry, moving to get in the rear of Hooker. 
Jackson was obliged to make d, long circuit by Todd's Tavern 
and the Furnace Road, moving first southwest toward Spottsyl- 
vania, then west toward Orange Court-House, then north 
toward the Rapidan, then east toward the old saw-mill on 
Hunting Run. Rodes's division reached the Old Wilderness 
Tavern about four o'clock in the afternoon. As the different 
divisions arrived they were formed across the Stevensburg plank- 
road, Rodes in front, Trimble's division under General Cols- 
ton in the second, and A. P. Hill in the third line. 

General Hooker, having decided to fight a defensive battle, 
ordered the construction of rifle-pits, and while Jackson was 
making this detour the position was strongly fortified against 



186 FOUR YEARS OF ncHTiNG. [May, 

an attack from the direction of Fredericksburg. Early in the 
day it was reported that Lee was retreating rapidly toward Cul- 
pepper Court-House. From the cleared field occupied by 
Sickles the Rebel column could be seen moving southwest, — 
artillery, baggage-train, and infantry. It was generally believed 
in Hooker's army that Lee, finding the position too impregnable, 
was retiring. Sickles and Howard thought differently. 

" Lee has divided his army, and now is the time to strike," 
said General Sickles to Hooker. 

General Hooker hesitated. His plan was to stand wholly 
on the defensive. Still the column filed by. 

" The enemy is on my flank," was the message from 
Howard. " We can hear the sound of their axes in the 
woods." * 

" Now is the time to double up Lee," said Sickles, again 
urging an attack. f 

" You may go out and feel the enemy, but don't go too fast, 
nor too far," said Hooker, at last yielding. 

It is nearly two miles southwest from Chancellorsville to 
Wellford's iron furnace, which is situated on the Ny River, the 
north branch of the Mattapony. The road which passes the 
furnace, and along which Jackson was hastening, is a byroad 
from the plank-road east of Chancellorsville, to the Brock Road, 
which runs from Todd's Tavern northwest to the Old Wilder- 
ness Tavern. Archer's and Thomas's brigades of A. P. Hill's 
division were at the furnace when Sickles received permission to 
move out. They were the rear brigades of Jackson's column. 
Sickles lost no time in putting' his divisions in motion. Ber- 
dan's sharpshooters were thrown out in advance as skirmishers, 
and the infantry with artillery followed ; but the artillery was 
compelled to halt till a bridge could be constructed across a 
small creek. It was about four o'clock when the head of the 
column reached the road over which Jackson had marched. 
Archer was nearly a mile west of the furnace when the sharp- 
shooters reached the road, where they suddenly fell upon the 
Twenty-Third Georgia. This regiment had been detached from 
Colquitt's brigade of D. H. Hill's division, and was posted on 

* Howard's Keport. t General Sicklcs's statement. 



1863.] . CHANCELLORSVILLE. 187 

the north side of the road, as a flanking party, to cover the 
march of the troops. 

There was a sudden commotion in Archer's and Thomas's 
brigades. Brown's battery was wheeled into position, and, with 
the Twenty-Third Georgia and Fourteenth Tennessee, opened 
fire upon Sickles. The teamsters of the Rebel baggage-trains 
fled into the woods. 

A courier dashed up the road to inform Archer what had 
happened, but before the news reached him the Twenty-Third 
Georgia was in the hands of Sickles. Archer faced about, 
and formed his lines. 

Anderson all the while was skirmishing with Slocum, to 
attract Hooker's attention, while Jackson was getting into 
position, but he was now obliged to send Wright, Posey, and Ma- 
han to the assistance of Archer and Thomas. They attacked 
Sickles's left flank, while Archer and Thomas attacked his 
right. The contest waxed warm. 

" Don't go too fast," was Hooker's injunction again to Sickles. 

" I want a brigade to fill the gap between myself and How- 
ard," was Sickles's reply, and Barlow's brigade was sent. It 
was the best of the Eleventh Corps. Howard had placed it in 
reserve just where he could use it to advantage, on either flank, 
in front, or centre. 

The Eleventh Corps was formed in the following order : 
General Devens's division on the right, between the Stevensburg 
road and the old saw-mill, facing northwest ; General Schurz's 
division south of the plank-road, facing southwest ; General 
Schimmelfennig's brigade of Steinwehr's division also south of 
the road, reaching to Dowdal's Tavern ; Barlow's brigade north 
of the road, in rear of the centre. 

There was no want of precaution on the part of General 
Howard. General Hooker rode along the line with Howard on 
Saturday forenoon. Howard says : — 

" At one point a regiment was not deployed and at another a gap in 
the woods was not filled. The corrections were made and the position 
strengthened. The front was covered by a good line of skirmishers. I 
should have stated that just at evening of the 1st the enemy made a 
reconnoissance on our front with a small force of artillery and infantry. 
General Schimmelfennig moved out with a battalion and drove him 



188 



FOUE YEAES OF FIGHTING. 



[May, 




I J § 
< S H 
d Q H 



a. 2 



CO o 



« 



Q %: S 






2 i 



OQ fn S H << 



li 



CS 3 > 

S o o 



<^ U5 ;0 t- 00 05 



•S -^ -« 



M (D 

M .o 



^ > dJ ^■' 



s rt -S 



P CW CO M 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 189 

back. During Saturday, the 2d, the same general made frequent recon- 
noissances. Infantry scouts and cavalry patrols were constantly pushed 
out on every road. The unvarying report was, ' The enemy is crossino- 
the plank-road and moving towards Culpepper.' At 4 P. M. I was 
directed to send a brigade to the support of General Sickles. I im- 
mediately took Barlow's brigade by a short route to General Sickles's 
right, some two and a half miles from the plank-road to the front." * 

It was six o'clock. There was a gap from Dowdal's Tavern 
almost to Chancellorsville, from which Sickles had moved. 
Slocum had advanced beyond Chancellorsville southeast. The 
sending out of Sickles and Barlow, the advance of Slocum, and 
the position of the Second Corps, so far away to the rear, left 
Howard without any supports. 

Jackson came through the woods upon Howard's skirmishers, 
who fired and fell back. The firing attracted the attention of 
the men along the lines, who were cooking their suppers. Occa- 
sional shots had been fired during the afternoon, and there was 
no alarm till the skirmishers came out of the woods upon the 
run, followed by the Rebels. The men seized their arms ; but, 
before Devens could get his regiments into position, the Rebels 
were approaching his right flank, firing quick volleys and yelling 
like savages. Some of Devens's command fled, throwing away 
their guns and equipments. Others fought bravely. Devens, 
while endeavoring to rally his men, was wounded ; several of 
his officers fell ; yet he held his ground till the Rebels gained 
his rear and began firing into the backs of the men who stood 
behind the breastwork. Then the line gave way, abandoning 
five guns. 

Howard was at his head-quarters, by Dowdal's. Schurz also 
was there when the attack commenced. He says : — 

" I sent my chief of staff to the front when firing was heard. Gen- 
eral Schurz, who was with me, left at once to take command of his line. 
It was not three minutes before I followed. When I reached General 
Schurz's command, I saw that the enemy had enveloped my right, and 
that the first division [Devens's] was giving way. I first tried to 
change front with the deployed regiments. I next directed the artillery 
where to go ; then formed a line, by deploying some of the reserve reg- 
iments, near the church. By this time the whole front, on the north of 

* Howard's Keport. 



190 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

the plank-road, had given way. Colonel Burshbeck's brigade was faced 
about, and, lying on the other side of the rifle-pit embankment, held on 
with praiseworthy firmness, A part of General Sehimmelfennig's and 
a part of Colonel Krzyzanouski's brigades moved gradually back to the 
north of the plank-road, and kept up their fire. At the centre, and near 
the plank-road, there was a blind panic and great confusion. By the 
assistance of my staff and some other oflBcers, one of whom was Colonel 
Dickinson, of General Hooker's staff, the rout was considerably checked, 
and all the artillery except eight pieces withdrawn. Some of the artil- 
lery was well served, and told effectively on the advancing enemy. 
Captain Dilger kept up a continuous fire, till we reached General 
Birney's position." * 

The Rebel troops which first made their appearance, and 
which enveloped Howard's right, were commanded by General 
Doles, who says : — 

" At five o'clock P. M. the order was given to advance against the 
enemy. The brigade moved as rapidly as possible through a very thick 
wood, and skirmishers were immediately engaged by those of the ene- 
my. Our forces marching rapidly forward assisted in driving in the 
enemy's sharpshooters, when we were subjected to a heavy musket fire, 
and grape, canister, and shell. The command was ordered to attack the 
enemy in his intrenched position, drive him from it, and take his bat- 
teries. The order was promptly obeyed ; the Fourth and Forty-Fourth 
Georgia assaulted his position in front ; the Twenty-First Georgia was 
ordered to flank him so as to enfilade his intrenchments ; the Twelfth 
Georgia was ordered forward, and to the right, to attack a force of the 
enemy on the right. After a resistance of about ten minutes we drove 
him from his position on the left, and carried his battery of two guns, cais- 
sons, and horses. The movement of the Twelfth Georgia on the right 
was successful. The order to forward was given, when the command 
moved forward at the ' double-quick ' to assault the enemy who had 
taken up a strong position on the crest of a hill in the open field. He 
was soon driven from this position, the command pursuing him. He 
made a stubborn resistance from behind a wattling fence, on a hill thick- 
ly covered with pine. The whole command moved- gallantly against 
this position, the Fourth and Forty- Fourth Georgia in front, aud the 
Twenty-First and Twelfth on his left flank and rear. Here we cap- 
tured one gun, — a rifled piece. We pursued his retreating forces about 
three hundred yards over an open field, receiving a severe fire from 

* Howard's Keport. 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 191 

musketry and a battery of four pieces on the crest of the hill that com- 
manded the field below ; his infantry was in large force, and well pro- 
tected by rifle-pits and intrenchments. The command was ordered to 
take the intrenchments and the battery, which ivas done after a resist- 
ance of about twenty minutes. The enemy fled in utter confusion, leav- 
ing his battery of four pieces, his wounded, and many prisoners. The 
Twelfth Georgia and the larger portion of the other regiments was 
formed in good order, and pursued him through the pine forest, mov- 
ing some five hundred yards to the front, and holding that position 
until after dark. Fresh troops having been placed in that position after 
dark, I ordered the command to retire for the purpose of replenishing 
ammunitions, the men being entirely out. During this engagement, 
which lasted from about 5i to 9 F. M., the command captured eight 
pieces of artillery and many prisoners."* 

It is manifest, that while a portion of the Eleventh Corps be- 
came panic-stricken, a large number of Howard's troops fought 
with great bravery. The entire loss was about thirteen thou- 
sand five hundi'ed on the morning of May 1st. 

The force under Howard at the time of the attack did not ex- 
ceed eleven thousand, mainly raw German troops. Howard's 
total loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners was two thousand 
five hundred and twenty-eight. Twenty-five officers and one 
hundred and fifty-three men were killed, seventy-eight officers 
and eight hundred and forty-two wounded, — a total loss of 
one thousand and ninety-eight killed and wounded, which shows 
the severity of this brief conflict. 

The Eleventh Corps has been severely censured for pusillan- 
imous conduct in this battle ; but when all of the facts are 
taken into consideration, — that Howard had no supports to call 
upon ; that the Third Corps was two miles and a half from its 
position in the line ; that Barlow's brigade had been sent away ; 
that the attack was a surprise ; that Jackson's force exceeded 
thirty thousand ; that, notwithstanding these disadvantages, a 
" stubborn resistance" was offered, — praise instead of censure 
is due to those of the Eleventh who thus held their ground, 
till one fourth of their number were killed, wounded, or taken 
prisoners. 

Almost at the beginning of the attack Devens was wounded. 

* General Doles's Report, p. 63. 



192 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Maj, 

In the confusion and panic, there was no one to take his place 
till Howard arrived. Hooker was at once in his saddle. 

" The enemy have attacked Howard and driven him in," was 
his word to Sickles. 

" That can't be," said Sickles, incredulous. 

" Return at once," was the order from Hooker, by a second 
messenger. 

The heavy firing, constantly growing nearer, gave force to 
the instruction. 

It was now quite dark. Sickles set out to return with all 
possible haste, but soon found that he had got to fight his way 
back. Jackson's left wing had swept round, till it rested upon 
the road, over which he had marched on his way out to the 
Furnace. Berry's division came first upon the enemy. A se- 
vere contest ensued, lasting till nine o'clock, when he suc- 
ceeded in re-establishing his connection with Howard, who 
had thus far fought the battle almost alone. Lee, with Ander- 
son's command, all the while was making a demonstration 
against the Twelfth and Fifth Corps east of Chancellorsville, 
and the Second was too far in rear to be of any service to 
Howard before the return of Sickles and Barlow. 

Jackson gained no advantage after his first attack, but on the 
other hand came near experiencing a panic in his own lines. 
General Colston says : — 

" We continued to drive the enemy until darkness prevented oui 
farther advance. The firing now ceased, owing to the difficult and 
tangled nature of the ground over which the troops had advanced, and 
the mingling of my first and second lines of battle. The formation of 
the troops became very much confused, and different regiments, brigades, 
and divisions were mixed up together. . . . The troops were hardly re- 
formed and placed in position when the enemy opened, about ten o'clock, 
a furious fire of shot, shell, and canister, sweeping down the plank-road 
and the woods on each side. A number of artillery horses, some of 
them without drivers, and a great many infantry soldiers, belonging to 
other commands, rushed down the road in wild disorder ; but, although 
many casualties occurred at this time in my division, the troops occupied 
their position with the utmost steadiness. It was at this time that 
General Nichols, of the Louisiana Brigade (Fourth), a gallant and 
accomplished officer, had his leg torn off by a shell, and was carried off 
the field. It was also about the same time that our gi'eat, and good, 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 193 

and ever to be lamented corps commander fell under the fire of some of 
the men of General Lane's brigade." * 

Under cover of the fire of the artillery, Berry's division of 
the Third Corps attacked Jackson. The Rebel commander had 
just placed A. P. Hill's division in the front line, and was con- 
templating an attack upon Sickles, when Berry advanced. His 
biographer says : — 

" Such was his ardor at this critical moment, and his anxiety to pen- 
etrate the movements of the enemy, doubly screened as they were by 
the dense forest and gathering darkness, that he rode ahead of the skir- 
mishers, and exposed himself to a close and dangerous fire from the 
enemy's sharpshooters, posted in the timber. So great was the dano-er 
which he ran, that one of his staflE" said, ' General, don't you think this 
is the wrong place for you ? ' He replied, quickly, ' The danger is all 
over ; the enemy is routed. Go back and tell A. P. Hill to press right 
on ! ' Soon after giving this order. General Jackson turned, and, 
accompanied by his staff and escort, rode back at a trot on his well- 
known 'Old Sorrel' toward his own men. Unhappily, in the dark- 
ness, — it was now nine or ten o'clock at night, — the little body of 
horsemen was mistaken for Federal cavalry charging, and the regiments 
on the right and left of the road fired a sudden volley into them with 
the most lamentable results. Captain Boswell, of Jackson's staff, was 
killed, and borne into our lines by his horse. Colonel Crutchfield, chief 
of artillery, was wounded, and two couriers killed. General Jackson 
received one ball in his left arm, two inches below the shoulder-joint, 
shattering the bone and severing the chief artery ; a second passed 
through the same arm, between the elbow and wrist, making its exit 
through the palm of the hand ; a third entered the palm of his right 
hand, about the middle, and, passing through, broke two of the bones. 

" He fell from his horse, and was caught by Captain "Wormly, to 
whom he said, ' All my wounds are by my own men.' 

" The firing was responded to by the enemy, who made a sudden 
advance, and, the Confederates falling hack, their foes actually charged 
over Jackson's body. He was not discovered, however, and the Federals 
being driven in turn, he was rescued. Ready hands placed him upon a 
litter, and he was borne to the rear under a heavy fire from the enemy. 
One of the litter-bearers was shot down ; the General fell from the 
shoulders of the men, receiving a severe contusion, adding to the injury 
of the arm and injuring the side severely. The enemy's fire of artillery 

* Colston's Report, p. 43. 
13 



194 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [May, 

at this point was terrible. General Jackson was left for five minutes 
until the fire slackened, then placed in an ambulance and carried to the 
field hospital at Wilderness Run." * 

Thus fell a commander endowed with qualities calculated to 
stir the warmest enthusiasm of the people of the South, He 
was brave, daring, energetic, impulsive, — the most competent 
of all the Eebel generals to lead a charge, — but not esteemed 
so able as Lee to conduct a campaign. He was deeply relig- 
ious, but espoused Treason with all his heart. He was educat- 
ed at the expense of the United States, and had sworn to bear 
faithful allegiance to his country ; yet he joined the Rebels at 
the outset, and did what he could to inaugurate and carry to a 
successful issue a civil war for the overthrow of the national 
government and the establishing of another with slavery for its 
corner-stone ! He prayed and fought for a system of servitude 
which was the sum of all villanies, and which has received the 
condemnation of every civilized nation of modern times. 

Not according to the measure of his military prowess, nor by 
his sincerity of heart or religious convictions and exercises, will 
History judge him, but, connecting the man with the cause 
which he espoused, will hold him accountable for blood shed 
in a war waged to sustain human slavery, under the specious 
doctrine of the Rights of States. 

When the assault was made on Howard, the first move on the 
part of Hooker was to arrange for a new line. 

Captain Best, commanding the artillery of the Twelfth Corps, 
brought thirty-six guns into position between Chancellorsville 
and Dowdal's, sweeping the fields to the south and southwest, 
the Orangeburg plank-road, and the breastworks which Busch- 
beck had abandoned, and behind which the Rebels were form- 
ing for a second attack. Under cover of this fire, Birney and 
Whipple came back from, Scott's Creek ; Williams's division, 
•which had been pushed out southeast of Chancellorsville, on 
the road to Fredericksburg, was drawn in. 

When the Twelfth Corps got back to its place in the line, 
most of Howard's works were in possession of the enemy. 

* Life of Stonewall Jackson, by Daniels, of Richmond, p. 254. 



1863.] CHANCELLORS VILLE. 195 

Williams now crossed his own intrenchments, and formed in 
the field, facing westward. 

" Stand steady, old Third Brigade. Stand steady, old Sesond 
Massachusetts," was the address of the Brigadier. 

So stood the line, while Best poured in his tremendous artil- 
lery fire, and while Berry pushed the Rebels back into the 
woods. 

Jackson and A. P. Hill having been wounded, the command 
devolved on General Stuart, who arrived at midnight and made 
a reconnoissance of the lines. 

East of Chancellorsville Slocum and Meade were having a se- 
vere fight with the Rebels under Lee, who says in his report: — 

" As soon as the sound of cannon gave notice of Jackson's attack on 
the enemy's right, our troops in front of Chancellorsville were ordered 
to press him strongly on the left, to prevent reinforcements being sent 
to the point assailed. They were directed not to attack in force, unless 
a favorable opportunity should present itself, and while continuing to 
cover the roads leading from their respective positions, toward Chan- 
cellorsville, to incline to the left so as to connect with Jackson's right as 
he closed in upon the centre. These orders vsrere well executed, our 
troops advancing up to the enemy's intrenchments, while several bat- 
teries played with good effect upon his lines, until prevented by in- 
creasing darkness." * 

Anderson's division advanced rapidly up the Fredericksburg 
road, charging upon Kane's brigade of Geary's division, com- 
posed of new troops, which, after a short resistance, retreated 
in confusion. An aid from Slocum came down to Hooker for 
reinforcements. " No," said Hooker, " he must hold his own. 
Let Geary's division, however, be thrown to the right of the 
road, that the artillery may be able to sweep the enemy on the 
left." This was done, and the heavy fire that was given by 
Knapp's and other batteries checked Anderson's advance. A 
constant demonstration was kept up by Anderson to deceive 
Hooker as to Lee's intentions. Thus the night passed. 

THE BATTLE OF SUNDAY. 

Both armies were busy through the night, preparing for the 
great struggle, — Lee to attack and Hooker to defend. The 

* Lee's Report. 



196 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

wounded were sent to the rear, also the baggage trains, and 
the cavahy, and everything which could impede operations. 
Hooker's line was in the form of the letter V. The Second 
Corps, which had followed Berry up the night before, oc- 
cupied the right of the line, reaching nearly down to the 
river, joining the left flank upon Berry's division of the 
Third Corps, which extended to the plank-road, west of Chan- 
cellorsville. Whipple's and Birney's divisions of the Third, 
and Geary's division of the Twelfth, formed the point of the 
letter Y, which enclosed Chancellorsville. The other divisions 
of the Twelfth Corps and the Fifth Corps forming the other 
side of the letter, extended from Chancellorsville to the Rap- 
pahannock. The Eleventh Corps was placed in position to 
support the Fifth on the extreme left of the line. During the 
day the First Corps under Reynolds came up the river, crossed 
at United States Ford, and wheeled into position on the right 
of the Second Corps, thus forming the extreme right of the 
line. The troops had been busy through the night erecting 
breastworks, while a large number of guns were placed in 
position to sweep all the roads. Stuart renewed the fight at 
daylight, with Hill in the front line, Colston in the second, and 
Rodes in the third. He advanced with the intention of break- 
ing the line near Chancellorsville. His troops were exasper- 
ated by the loss of their leader, and were animated by revenge. 
They came through the woods almost in solid mass. Colston's 
and Rodes's men, pressing eagerly forward, and closing up the 
spaces between the lines. They received, without flinching, 
the terrible fire which flamed from Berry's and Birney's and 
Whipple's lines. They charged upon Sickles's outer works, and 
carried them. 

They advanced upon the second line, but were cut up by 
Best's artillery. Companies and regiments melted away. 
Berry and Birney advance to meet them. The living waves 
rolled against each other like the billows of a stormy sea. The 
Rebels, as if maddened by the obstinacy of those who held the 
position, rushed up to the muzzles of the cannon. Sickles 
sent for reinforcements. Hooker ordered French and Hancock 
of the Second Corps to advance and attack Stuart in flank. 

It was seven o'clock in the morning:. The battle had been 



1863.] CHANCELLOESVILLE. 197 

raging since daylight. The two divisions of the Second Corps 
swung out from the main line, faced southwest, and moved 
upon Stuart. 

South of Chancellorsville there is an elevation higher than' 
that occupied by Best's artillery. When the fog which had 
hung over the battle-field all the morning lifted, Stuart sent his 
artillery to occupy the position. Thirty pieces were planted 
there, which enfiladed both of Hooker's lines. A heavy artil- 
lery duel was kept up, but, notwithstanding the severity of the 
fire, the Union troops held the position. Stuart, instead of 
breaking through Sickles, found the Second Corps turning his 
own left flank. He says : — 

" The enemy was pressing our left with infantry, and all the rein- 
forcements I could obtain were «ent there. Colquitt's brigade of 
Trimble's division, ordered first to the right, was directed to the left to 
support Pender. Iverson's brigade of the second line was also engaged 
there, and the three lines were more or less merged into one line of 
battle, and reported hard pressed. Urgent requests were sent for rein- 
forcements, and notices that the troops were out of ammunition. I 
ordered that the ground must be held at all hazards, if necessary with 
the bayonet." * 

All of the efforts of Stuart to break the line by a direct in- 
fantry attack failed. But his batteries massed on the hill 
were doing great damage. The shells swept down Birney's 
and Whipple's and Berry's ranks on the one hand, and Geary's 
and Williams's on the other. Hooker saw that the position 
could not be held without great loss of life. Preparations 
were accordingly made to fall back to a stronger position, 
where his army would be more concentrated, the lines shorter 
and thicker, in the form of a semi-circle. Meanwhile Lee 
swung Anderson round and joined Stuart, making a simulta- 
neous advance of both wings of his army, under cover of a 
heavy fire from all his available artillery, — pouring a storm 
of shells upon Chancellorsville, firing the buildings. Hooker 
had begun to retire before Lee advanced, withdrawing his artil- 
lery, removing his wounded, losing no prisoners. 

Every attack of Anderson upon Slocum had been repulsed 
with great loss. A South Carolina regiment came against the 

* Stuart's Report. 



198 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

Second Massachusetts. Three times the men from the Pal- 
metto state charged upon the men of Massachusetts. Three 
times the flag from the Old Bay State changed hands. But, 
before the Rebels could carry it from the field, it was rescued, 
and at the close of the fight was still in the hands of the regi- 
ment. When Slocum's troops had exhausted their ammuni- 
tion they emptied the cartridge-boxes of the fallen. When 
that was gone they held the ground by the bayonet till ordered 
to retire.* 

General Lee says : — 

" By ten A. M. we were in full possession of the field. The troops, 
having become somewhat scattered, by the difficulties of the ground, 
and the ardor of the contest, were immediately reformed, preparatory 
to renewing the attack. The enemy had retired to a strong position 
near the Rappahannock, which he had previously fortified. His supe- 
riority of numbers, the unfiivorable nature of the ground, which was 
densely wooded, and the condition of our troops, after the arduous and 
sanguinary conflict in w^hich they had been engaged, rendered great 
caution necessary. Our preparations were just completed, when further 
operations were suspended by intelligence received from Fredericks- 
burg." t 

The new line taken by Hooker was one of great strength. 
No assault, with the intention of carrying it, was made by Lee. 
News of disaster from Fredericksburg, where Sedgwick was 
dri\dng all before him, made it necessary for him to send rein- 
forcements in that direction. 

SECOND BATTLE OF FREDEEICKSBUKG. 

An important part of General Hooker's plan was Sedgwick's 
movement on Fredericksburg, but the battle fought there on 
Sunday, the 3d of May, was wholly distinct from Chancellors- 
ville. Early on the morning of the 2d, Professor Lowe went 
up in his balloon from the Falmouth hills, and looked down 
upon the city. 

He reported the Rebels moving towards Chancellorsville. 
Looking closely into the intrenchments behind Fredericksburg, 
he discovered that the Rebels intended to hold them. The 

* " From the Potomac to the Rapidan," by Quint, 
t Lee's Report. 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 199 

Washington Artillery was behind the breastworks by Maryee's 
house. 

" Ten thousand of the enemy, I should judge, still there," 
was his report to General Butterfield, Hooker's chief of staff, 
who remained with Sedgwick. 

During the day Reynolds withdrew and moved up the Fal- 
mouth side to United States Ford. The Rebels saw the move- 
ment, and thought that the Yankees did not dare to make a 
second attempt to drive tliem from their intrenchments. 

" Now is the time for Sedgwick to attack them," was Hook- 
er's despatch from Chancellorsville, Saturday afternoon, to 
General Butterfield. 

As soon as night came on, Sedgwick began his preparations. 
The engineers were directed to take up the lower pontoons and 
lay a new bridge opposite the Lacy House, at the point where 
the Seventh Michigan and Nineteenth and Twentieth Massa- 
chusetts won for themselves great honor on the 11th of De- 
cember. 

" Kindle no fires ; let there be no loud talking," were Sedg- 
wick's orders to his troops on the plain by Bernard's house, 
below Deep Run. The men ate their suppers of hard-tack and 
cold meat in silence, threw themselves upon the ground, and 
slept soundly in the calm moonlight. At midnight an aide 
rode along the lines, saying to each officer, " Get your men 
in readiness at once." The men sprang to their feet, folded 
their blankets, and were ready. 

It was half past twelve Sunday morning before the forward 
movement began. The United States Chasseurs were in ad- 
vance as skirmishers, deployed on both sides of the Bowling 
Green road. Shaler's brigade followed, then Wheaton's and 
Brown's brigades. They crossed Deep Run, where the skir- 
mishers had a few shots with the Rebel pickets, and moved into 
the town. 

The engineers soon had the bridge completed, and Gibbon's 
division of the Second Corps, which had been waiting by the 
Lacy House, crossed the stream. 

Early stationed Barksdale, with seven companies of the 
Twenty-First Mississippi, between Maryee's house and the 
plank-road, with the Seventeenth and Thirteenth Mississippi 



200 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

on the hills by the Howison house, and the Eighteenth and the 
remainder of the Twenty-First behind the stone- wall at the base 
of the hill. Hayes's brigade, consisting of the Fifth, Sixth, 
Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Louisianians, was on the hill near 
the monument, with Wilcox's brigade in its rear, guarding 
Banks's Ford. Early himself was by Hazel Run, with Gordon's, 
Hoke's, and Smith's brigades. 

Sedgwick's divisions were formed in the following order : 
Gibbon above the town in front of the monument, Newton in 
front of Maryee's Hill, Howe at the lower end of the town, and 
Brooks on the plain below. 

The morning dawned. The fog prevented the Rebels from 
seeing the movements of Sedgwick, though Barksdale's pickets 
reported the town full of Yankees. From Chancellorsville 
came the roar of battle, the constant thunder of the cannonade. 
It was half past five when Shaler's brigade of Newton's division 
moved over the field where so many thousands fell on the 13th 
of December. It was a reconnoissance to ascertain the position 
and number of the force holding the place. The men marched 
on gallantly, but were forced to retire before the Mississippians 
and the artillery on the hill. 

Sedgwick brought Hearn's, Martin's, Adams's, and Hazard's 
batteries, and Battery D of the Second United States regi- 
ment of artillery, into position in the town and above it, while 
Hexamer's, the First Maryland, and McCartney's First Massa- 
chusetts occupied the ground below Hazel Run. McCart- 
ney* was on the same spot which he occupied in the first 
battle. 

It was a day of peace everywhere except at Fredericksburg 
and Chancellorsville. The air was laden with the fragrance of 
flowers blooming in the gardens of the town. Thousands of 
spectators stood upon the Falmouth hills watching the contest. 
All the batteries were at work, — the heavy guns at Falmouth, 
at the Lacy House, and farther down, throwing shells and solid 
shot over the town into the Rebel lines. 

Gibbon, instead of advancing directly up the hill towards the 
monument, where Hayes was lying behind the intrenchments, 
moved up the river road, intending to turn Hayes's right flank. 
Hayes moved his men farther up, and sent a courier to Wil- 



1863.] 



CHANCELLORSVILLE. 



201 




Union Positions. 



1. Gibbon's Division. 

2. Newton's " 

3. Howe's " 

4. Brooks's " 



Rebel Positions. 

A. Hayes's Brigade. 

B. Barksdale's Brigade. 

C. Early's Division. 

Gordon's, Hokes's, and Smith's Bri- 
gades. 

D. Wilcox's Brigade. 



202 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

COX with the message, " The Yankees are coming up the river 
road." * 

Wilcox left fifty men to guard the ford, and went upon the 
run towards the town. It was an anxious moment to the 
Rebels. Barksdale and Hayes and Wilcox all met at Stanis- 
berry's house, and consulted as to what should be done. Early, 
their commander, was down on the Telegraph road, looking 
after matters in that direction. 

" The Yankees are in full force below the town," said 
Barksdale. t That was the first information Wilcox had re- 
ceived of the startling fact. They had been outgeneralled. 
They supposed that the movement below the town was a feint. 
They had seen Reynolds withdraw and march up stream to- 
wards Chancellorsville, but had not seen Gibbon cross the 
stream. Yet he was there, moving to the attack. 

" Put your batteries into position and play upon them," said 
Barksdale. $ Huger's battery galloped up, chose a fine position 
on the hill near Dr. Taylor's house, and began to fire upon 
the Massachusetts Twentieth, which was in the road, compel- 
ling it to seek shelter under the hill. So effectual was the fire 
that Gibbon's advance was checked. 

Brooks and Howe moved against the Rebels below the town, 
but found them strongly posted. 

Twice Newton advanced upon Maryee's Hill, and was driven 
back. Tlie forenoon was waning. But though baffled, Sedg- 
wick was not disposed to give up the attempt. He watched 
the contest closely, reconnoitring all the positions of the Rebels, 
and determined to make an attack with his whole force at 
once. 

But while Sedgwick was making preparations. Early endeav- 
ored to drive Brooks and Howe into the river. He advanced 
from the position occupied by Pender and Hood in the first 
battle, emerged from the woods and crossed the open field. 

It is about ten o'clock. McCartney's battery, the First Massa- 
chusetts, is on a hillock, where it has full sweep of all the plain, 
right and left, and in front. There are five batteries of the 
Rebel reserve artillery, under Pendleton, in front, which have 

* Wilcox's Report, p. 98. t "Wilcox's Report. 

} Barksdale's Report. 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 203 

tried in vain to drive McCartney from the spot. A solid shot 
kills two horses and a man ; McCartney is struck by a frag- 
ment of shell ; yet the battery maintains its position north of 
the Bowling Green road, in Bernard's field. A regiment which 
never before has been under fire is lying in front of the bat- 
tery, sheltered by the hedges along the road, — soldiers that 
have enlisted for nine months. They are wanting in pluck, 
and as the Rebels advance, run straight up the hill towards the 
battery. 

" Get out of the way, or I '11 fire through you," shouts Lieu- 
tenant Green, who impatiently holds his artillerists in check 
till the fugitives are past him. 

He cuts at them right and left with his sword, indignant at 
their cowardly conduct, anxious to have the coast clear, that 
he may pour a torrent of canister into the advancing foe, now 
close at hand. 

The whole battery — six pieces — opens by a volley, sending 
streams of canister down the slope ! But the Rebels are in 
earnest. Still they advance. 

" Give them double-shotted canister," shouts Green to his 
gunners, and they ram home the charges with a will. The 
guns leap from the ground with the recoil ! 

Nearer, — across the road, — up the hill, — they come. 

" Give it to them ! Give it to them ! Quick ! " are the ener- 
getic shouts of Green, and the canister tears through the ranks. 
No troops can face such a destructive fire. The Rebels flee 
down the hill, across the road, over the field, to the shelter of 
the woods. 

" The repulse of the enemy on the extreme left was effected 
almost entirely by McCartney's battery," said General Brooks.* 

General Sedgwick determined to carry Maryee's Hill at the 
point of the bayonet. Some of the officers thought it an im- 
possibility. It had been tried three times in the first battle and 
twice during that morning, and all attempts had failed. But 
Sedgwick converged his forces upon one point. He formed 
his columns in three lines, with the intention of moving his 
whole force at once, — thus preventing Early from sending any 
reinforcements from other parts of the lines. 

* Brooks's Keport. 



204 FOUE YEAKS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

The troops selected for the attack upon Maryee's Hill were 
the Sixty-First Pennsylvania and Forty-Third New York in the 
front line, north of the plank-road, and the First Long Island 
and Eighty-Second Pennsylvania in the second line, under Gen- 
eral Shaler. South of the plank-road were the Sixth Maine and 
Thirty-First New York in the front line, with the Fifth Wis- 
consin acting as skirmishers. Next in line were the Seventh 
Massachusetts and Thirty-Sixth New York, Second New York 
and Twenty-Sixth New Jersey, of Neil's brigade. Still farther 
down, by Hazel Run, was the Vermont brigade. 

Gibbon moved against Hayes and Wilcox, while Brooks still 
held the ground, and made a demonstration against Early. 

It is past eleven o'clock before all the dispositions are made. 

" Go upon the double-quick. Don't fire a shot. Give them 
the bayonet. Carry the rifle-pits, charge up the hill, and cap- 
ture the guns," are the instructions. 

The men throw aside everything which will hinder them, fix 
their bayonets, and prepare for the work. Their blood is up. 
They know that it is to be a desperate struggle. But it is not 
death that they are thinking of, but victory ! 

The Sixty-First Pennsylvania and Forty-Third New York 
move over the bridge across the canal. Their advance is the 
signal for all the lines. The men rise from the ground where 
they have been lying sheltered from the Rebel shells. The 
Rebel batteries above them are in a blaze. The stone-wall at 
the base of the hill is aflame. Barksdale sees the threatening 
aspect. " I am hard pressed," is his message to Wilcox. " Send 
me reinforcements." But Gibbon is moving on Wilcox, and 
the latter cannot respond. 

Cool and steady the advance. The hills rain canister. The 
sunken road is a sheet of flame. But onward into the storm, 
with a cheer, heard above the roar of battle upon the distant 
Falmouth hills, they leap into the sunken road and capture the 
Rebels defending it. They climb the hill. Steep the ascent. 
They feel the hot breath of the cannon in their faces. Some 
roll to the bottom of the hill, the lamp of life extinguished for- 
ever ; but their surviving comrades do not falter. They reach 
the crest, leap over the breastworks, and seize the guns ! Maine, 
Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, and Wisconsin meet in 
the intrenchments and rend the air with victorious cheers ! 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 205 

Barksdale puts spurs to his horse and rides to the rear, leav- 
ing half of his brigade and eight guns in the hands of the 
victors. 

Barksdale says : — 

"The distance from town to the points assailed was so short, the 
attack so suddenly made, and the difficulty of removing troops from one 
part of the line to another was so great, that it was utterly impossible 
for either General Wilcox or General Hayes to reach the scene of 
action in time to affiDrd any assistance whatever." * 

There was consternation in the Rebel lines. Early fled down 
the Telegraph road. Hayes also ran. Wilcox, who was not 
aware of the disaster, remained in position on Taylor's Hill, 
wondering what had happened. Had Sedgwick known his 
position, the whole of Wilcox's brigade might have been cap- 
tured ; but it required time to reform the lines, and Wilcox 
made his escape. 

Long and loud and joyous were the shouts of the victors. 
The stronghold had been wrested from the Rebels at last. 

It was Sunday noon. Hooker had just fallen back from 
Chancellorsville, and the Rebels were rejoicing over their suc- 
cess, when a messenger reached Lee with the tidings of disaster. 
Fredericksburg was lost, after all. It must be recovered, or 
the victory at Chancellorsville would be only a disastrous 
defeat. 

Sedgwick telegraphed his success to Hooker. 

" Move and attack Lee in rear," was Hooker's order. 

Lee sent McLaws to hold Sedgwick in check. The time 
had come when Hooker should have assumed the offensive. 
The First Corps had arrived, but had taken no part in the 
battle. The Third Corps, Meade's, was in good condition ; so 
was the Second, Hancock's, although it had fought during the 
forenoon. Barlow's brigade of the Eleventh was fresh ; the 
Twelfth had fought bravely, had lost heavily, but was not de- 
moralized. The Third Corps had suffered most of all, yet it 
could be relied upon for another contest. The withdrawal of 
McLaws left Lee's line thin towards Fredericksburg, the place 
to break through, and open communication with Sedgwick. 

* Barksdale's Report. 



206 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

The hour had come when he ought not to stand longer on the 
defensive, but gathering his forces in mass overwhehu Lee by a 
sudden and mighty onset. It was an auspicious moment, — a 
golden opportunity, such as does not often come to military 
commanders. But having formed his plan of fighting a defen- 
sive battle, he did not depart from it, and lost the victory which 
lay within his grasp. 

Sedgwick having carried the heights of Fredericksburg, 
instead of following Early down the Telegraph road, made prep- 
arations to move towards Chancellorsville, and join Hooker. 

Wilcox, meanwhile, brought two of Huger's rifle-guns into 
position near Dr. Taylor's house, and ojDened fire. He also threw 
out his skirmishers, made a display of his force, and looked 
round to see what could be done to escape from his perilous 
position. Sedgwick brought up a battery, and moved for- 
ward his lines. Wilcox fled, and succeeded, by rapid marching 
under the shelter of a pine thicket, in gaining the plank-road, 
near Salem Church, where he was joined by General McLaws, 
and where also Barksdale rallied his troops. 

The church is a brick building, without any steeple, stand- 
ing on the south side of the road, about four miles out from 
Fredericksburg, and about a mile and a half south of the Rap- 
pahannock at Banks's Ford. There was an oak grove near 
the church, and in front of it an open field, but west of it 
there were thick woods, which effectually concealed the Rebels. 
It was about five o'clock in the afternoon when Sedgwick ad- 
vanced up the plank-road, with Brooks's division in the road, 
Newton north of it, and Howe on the south side. Sedgwick's 
skirmishers sent back word that the Rebels were in strong 
force in the woods. At the same moment the Rebel batteries 
opened fire. One of their first shells killed a mounted orderly 
and his horse, and wounded Captain Reed, of General Brooks's 
staff. 

Sedgwick brought up his artillery and commenced a fire 
upon the church, and the woods beyond it. Wilcox had 
formed his line across the plank-road. His sharpshooters were 
in the church. He had four pieces of artillery in the road 
and on each side of it. He also threw a company of sharp- 
shooters into a school-house n#ar the church. Kershaw's and 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 207 

WofFord's brigades were on the right of the road ; Semmes's 
and Mahone's on the other side. Sedgwick's batteries were in 
position near the toll-gate, and so accurate and destructive was 
the fire of his guns that the Rebel batteries by the church were 
driven from their position. Russell's and Bartlett's brigades 
moved forward to rout the enemy from the woods, Sedgwick 
supposing there was but a small force to oppose him. The 
advance was over ground slightly ascending, through an open 
field, towards the woods, where the Rebel skirmishers were 
lying. It is a narrow belt of woods. Behind it were the church 
and school-house, and beyond the church the woods where the 
main body of the Rebels were lying. They drove the skirmish- 
ers from the belt of woods, halted a moment to reform their 
lines, gave three cheers, charged through the grove, routing 
the Rebels there concealed. They surrounded the school- 
house, captured the entire company of the Ninth Alabama 
stationed in it, put to flight a regiment lying behind thie house.* 
But the remainder of the Ninth Alabama, with other regiments, 
came to the rescue, succeeded in recapturing a portion of their 
comrades, and forced Russell and Bartlett to retire. 

It was now nearly six o'clock in the afternoon, and till night 
set in there was heavy fighting along the whole line. Wilcox 
and Semmes several times advanced upon Sedgwick, but were 
repulsed. So far as numbers were concerned the contest was 
about equal. But the Rebels were on commanding ground, 
and protected by the woods, while Sedgwick was in the open 
field. In this contest Wilcox lost four hundred and ninety-five 
men. He had six officers killed and twenty-three wounded. 
Semmes lost six hundred and eighty-three killed and wounded, 
Wafibrd five hundred and sixty-two. The whole loss of the 
Rebels in the fight at Salem Church was nearly two thousand. 
Sedgwick, instead of advancing again, waited for the Rebels to 
attack him, but they did not choose to come out from their 
strong position in the woods, and try it a second time in the 
field. Thus the day closed. 

Sedgwick's success endangered Lee, and, unless Fredericks- 
burg were regained, the battle was lost to the Rebels. Lee 

says : — 

^__ — ^-^— 

* General Wilcox's Report. 



208 



FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[May, 




Union Positions. 

1. Newton's Division. 

2. Brooks's " 

3. Howe's " 



Rebel Positions. 

A. Semmes and Mahone. 

B. Wilcox. 

C. Kershaw and Wofford. 

D. Barksdale. 

E. Reinforcements. 

F. Dr. Taylor's. 

G. Route of Wilcox's Retreat. 






1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 209 

" The enemy had so strengthened his position near Chancellorsville 
that it was deemed inexpedient to assail it with less than our whole 
force, which could not be concentrated until we were relieved from the 
danger that menaced our rear. It was accordingly resolved still further 
to reinforce the troops in front of General Sedgwick, in order, if possi- 
ble, to drive him across the Rappahannock. Accordingly, on the 4th, 
General Anderson was directed to proceed with his remaining brigades 
to join General McLaws, the three divisions of Jackson's corps holding 
our position at Chancellorsville. Anderson reached Salem Church 
about noon, and was directed to gain the left flank of the enemy and 
form a junction with Early." * 

Half of the Rebel army was arrayed against Sedgwick, who 
held his ground through the 4th till night. Early, during the 
day, retraced his steps up the Telegraph road, and, finding that 
Sedgwick had moved out to Salem Church, and that the forti- 
fications were unoccupied, took possession, and thus cut Sedg- 
wick's communications with Falmouth. When Anderson 
arrived he had no alternative but to retreat by Banks's Ford, 
where he crossed the river without loss during the night. 
Hooker also recrossed, took up his bridges, and the army re- 
turned again to its camp. 

In reviewing this battle, it is apparent that Hooker's move- 
ment to Chancellorsville was a surprise to Lee. It was excel- 
lently planned and efficiently executed, — each corps reaching 
its assigned position at the time appointed by the Commander- 
in-Chief. It is plain that Hooker's departure from his original 
intention — to await an attack from Lee — was the cause of 
the disaster at the beginning of the engagement. Sickles's 
corps and Barlow's brigade being absent, the balance of the 
Eleventh Corps had no supports; and yet by'Bushbeck's brig- 
ade and Dilger's battery, with such assistance as was given by 
a few brave men of the other brigades, Jackson's right was not 
only held in check, but thrown into confusion. Howard's state- 
ment of the case presents the matter in its true light. 

Thus reads his report : — 

" Now, as to the cause of this disaster to my corps. 
" 1st. Though constantly threatened, and apprised of the moving of the 
enemy, yet the woods were so dense that he was able to mass a large 

* Lee's Eeport, p. 12. 
14 



210 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

force, whose exact whereabouts neither patrols, reconnoissancers, nor 
scouts ascertained. He succeeded in forming a column to and outflank- 
ing my right. 

."2d. By the panic produced by the enemy's reverse fire, regiments 
and artillery were thrown suddenly upon those in position. 

"3d. The absence of General Barlow's brigade, which I had pre- 
viously located in reserve and en echelon, with Colonel Von Gilsa's, so 
as to cover his right flank. 

" My corps was very soon reorganized, near Chancellorsville, and 
relieved General Meade's corps on the left of the line, where it remained 
till Thursday morning." * 

Had Sickles's corps and Barlow's brigade been in the line, 
there would have been not only no disaster, but Jackson would 
have been defeated at the outset; for, upon the return of those 
troops from Scott's Run, he was driven with great loss. 

Jackson was driven by Sickles when the Third Corps re- 
turned to the line ; and had Sickles and Barlow been in their 
proper positions when the attack was made, they could have 
repulsed him with greater ease. 

Though Jackson's attack was successful, it is not therefore 
conclusively evident that Lee's plan was wise. His army was 
divided into three parts, — Early at Fredericksburg, Lee east 
of Chancellorsville, and Jackson northwest of it. Being thor- 
oughly acquainted with the country, he was able to take his 
position unobserved. 

There were several opportunities during the battle when 
Hooker could have broken Lee's lines. The battle virtually 
was lost to Lee on Sunday noon. Hooker had fallen back 
from Chancellorsville, but Sedgwick had taken Fredericksburg. 
Had Hooker, when he ordered Sedgwick to attack Lee in the 
rear, on Sunday afternoon, himself advanced, Lee would have 
been forced to abandon the contest ; but, having resolved at 
the outset to stand on the defensive, the Union commander 
adhered to the idea, and thus Lee was able to retrieve the 
disaster at Fredericksburg, — far more serious than that which 
had happened to the Eleventh Corps. 

Could we but comprehend the ways of God, we might per- 
haps discover that the failure of the Union army at Chancellors- 

* Howard's Report, p. 9. 



1863.] CHANCELLORSVILLE. 211 

ville was not owing to the prowess of the Rebels, the valor of 
Stonewall Jackson, nor the strategy of Lee, but to another 
cause. When the army came into position at Chancellorsville, 
the commanding general is reported to have said that the Al- 
mighty could not prevent him from winning a victory. God is 
not mocked with impunity. There is one anthem resounding 
through all the ages, — " Te Deum Laudamus ! " 



1 






212 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 



CHAPTER XIY. 

CAVALRY OPERATIONS. 

" The Yankees can't ride horses ; they were made to go on 
foot and dig in the dirt ; but the men of the South are true- 
born cavaliers, accustomed from their childhood to the sports 
of the field," said a Richmond newspaper at the beginning of 
the war ; but Zagoni's charge at Springfield, Pleasanton's at 
Barber's Cross-Roads, and Dahlgren's at Fredericksburg showed 
that the men of the North could ride to some purpose. Up to 
this time the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac had taken 
little part in the great battles which had been fought. It had 
been divided by McClellan into squadrons, and attached to 
brigades of infantry ; but Burnside, before his resignation, had 
begun a reorganization of the cavalry. Hooker completed the 
work by forming a cavalry corps, consisting of three divisions, 
commanded by Major-General Stoneman. The division com- 
manders were Generals Pleasanton, Gregg, and Averill. In the 
month of March, Stoneman, wishing to ascertain the position of 
the Rebel cavalry, sent Averill's division a^iross the Rappahan- 
nock, at Kelley's Ford. The Rebels guarding the crossing were 
nearly all captured. Averill pushed out towards Culpepper, but 
met Stuart, and after a sharp engagement retired across the 
river. 

March and April were muddy ; but Stoneman's squadrons 
were busy foraging the country north of the Rappahannock, 
while his scouts were finding their way through Stuart's lines, 
reaching James River, entering Richmond, ascertaining where 
supplies for the Rebel army were accumulated, and what troops 
guarded the bridges in rear of Lee's army. They discovered 
that the main body of the Rebel cavalry was in the vicinity of 
Culpepper and Orange Court-House, under Fitz-Hugh and 
Custis Lee. 

One feature of General Hooker's plan, in the movement to 



1863.] CAVALRY OPERATIONS. 213 

Chancellorsville, was the destruction of Lee's supplies and his 
communications with Richmond. This part was assigned to the 
cavalry. Averill was sent to Bealton, on the Orange and Alex- 
andria Railroad, as if intending a movement upon Gordons- 
ville. Stuart sent the two Lees up the river to keep watch, 
which left a door open at Germanna Ford. 

Stoneman sent all his unserviceable horses and men to Fal- 
mouth. Men who could not endure hardship and exposure 
were detailed to remain and guard the camp. The cavalrymen 
only knew that there was to be a movement somewhere, so well 
kept were Hooker's intentions. 

Pleasanton was ordered to accompany Hooker to Chancellors- 
ville, Averill was directed to cross the river at Rappahannock 
Station, and move towards Gordonsville, while Gregg's division 
was selected to strike the blow which would cripple Lee. 

On the 29th of April, when the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps 
reached Kelley's Ford, on the Rappahannock, Gregg, who was 
lying there, crossed in advance, and moved west towards Cul- 
pepper. Averill at the same time forded the river at Rappahan- 
nock Station, four miles above, and moved also towards Cul- 
pepper. There was a small force of Rebel cavalry in that town, 
but Averill charged through the streets. The Rebels made a 
hasty retreat towards Gordonsville, crossing the Rapidan at 
the railroad and burning the bridge behind them. Averill 
followed, and the Lees thought that Gordonsville was the 
point aimed at. Gregg, instead of going to Culpepper, turned 
south through Stevensbtirg ; and, while the Eleventh and Twelfth 
Corps were crossing the Rapidan at Germanna Ford, his troops 
were fording the same stream eight utiles higher up. 

When Gregg arrived at Raccoon yFord, he found it guarded 
by a strong force on the opposite side, intrenched around the 
house of Colonel Porter, which overlooks the ford. Gregg 
halted his column in the field and woods, near the house of 
Mr. String-fellow, on the northern bank, and made demonstra- 
tions as if to cross. He opened with his artillery, which was 
replied to by the Rebels. While the enemy was thus diverted, 
a small force was sent to Morton's Ford, two miles below, which 
crossed without opposition, dashed up the road, and came upon 
the Rebels in rear of Colonel Porter's house. They fled to- 



214 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

wards Orange Court-House. Lieutenant Gaskell, with a por- 
tion of the Fifth United States Cavahy , followed them five miles, 
capturing an officer and several men. The division crossed, 
and bivouacked on the hills around Colonel Porter's house for 
the night. This movement of Gregg's compelled the Lees, who 
intended to fight Averill at Rapidan Station, to make a hasty 
retreat towards Gordonsville, for Gregg was on their flank. 
Averill crossed the stream, driving back the Rebels, and by his 
movement deceiving the enemy. He followed them nearly to 
Gordonsville, remained till Gregg's division was well on its way, 
then recrossed the stream, and rejoined Hooker. 

The night of the 30th of April was cold and the ground damp, 
but no fires were allowed. At two o'clock in the morning the 
men were roused from sleep, not by the bugle-call, but by low- 
spoken words. They were soon ready to move, but were obliged 
to wait till daylight for a guide. Four hours of valuable time 
were lost by this delay. 

The column moved along the road which runs south from 
Raccoon Ford to Louisa Court-House, at Greenwood. It crossed 
Mountain Run soon after daylight, reached the Fredericksburg 
plank-road, and moved on the north fork of the North Anna. 
A small body dashed into Orange Spring early in the morning, 
and captured a lieutenant of Jackson's staff, and a wagon 
loaded with intrenching tools. Squadrons were sent out in all 
directions, — on the side-roads and by-paths, through the fields 
and forests, — telling the people everywhere that Hooker's 
whole army was on the march, creating the impression among 
the people that Hooker was making a swift descent upon 
Richmond. The soldiers helped themselves to chickens, tur- 
keys, lambs, and obtained breakfasts in the houses of the 
farmers, who were astonished at their sudden appearance, and 
their unceremonious way of sitting down to breakfast without 
being asked. They visited stables, seized or exchanged horses 
without paying any boot. Great was the excitement among the 
negroes, who poured out from the cabins with wild expres- 
sions of joy. Hundreds of them joined the column, without 
saying good by to their masters. The citizens were sullen, but 
the women gave free utterance to their feelings. 

Gregg reached Louisa Court-House, twenty miles from Rac- 



1863.1 CAVALRY OPERATIONS. /) ^-215 

coon Ford, at two o'clock in the afternoon. The Virgniia Cen- 
tral Railroad, from Richmond to Gordonsville, passes through 
the town. A large quantity of supplies was in store there, 
guarded by several hundred Rebel cavalry, who, when they 
heard that the " Yankees " were coming, sent off what they 
could on a train of cars, and then fled to Gordonsville. Gregg 
sent out a regiment in pursuit, while the main body of his 
command bivouacked in the field west of the Court-House. 
Small bodies were detailed east and west along the railroad, 
tearing up the track, burning the ties, and destroying all the 
culverts and bridges in the vicinity. 

It was the first time that the people of Louisa Court-House 
had been visited by the Yankees. They had lived in security, 
never entertaining the thought that the " Yankees " could pen- 
etrate so far into the interior. They wanted high pay for all 
they had to sell, but were ready to make a great discount 
between Confederate currency and greenbacks. Gregg was 
now east of Gordonsville and Averill north of it. Gregg sent 
a portion of the First Maine Cavalry towards the place, as if 
intending to proceed in that direction. Three or four miles west 
of the Court-House the Maine men encountered a large force, 
which had been sent by Fitz-Hugh Lee. The officer command- 
ing the party sent word to Gregg, and fell back slowly ; but the 
Rebels charged upon him, killed two, and captured twenty- 
eight. Gregg formed his division for battle, and the Rebels 
retreated towards Gordonsville. 

At five o'clock in the afternoon, the railroad and depot build- 
ings having been destroyed, the column turned southeast, crossed 
the South Anna, passing through Yancyville, a little village on 
that stream, moved down the river, and reached Thompson's 
Cross-Roads at eleven o'clock. 

Up to this time General Stoneman had not informed his 
officers of his intentions. ' He called them together at midnight 
and gave them their instructions. 

" You are to destroy the bridges over the North Anna, and 
break up Lee's communications in that direction," were his 
instructions to Gregg. 

" Colonel Davis will destroy the bridges over the South 
Anna, south of the Fredericksburg Railroad." 



216 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May. 

" Colonel Wyiidham, with details of regiments from his 
brigade, will reach the James River at Columbia, and destroy 
the bridge there and break up the canal." 

" Colonel Kilpatrick, with the Harris Light Cavalry, will 
move to the Cliickahominy, and burn the bridges across that 
stream." 

Stoneman himself, with the main force, was to remain there, 
and cover the movement. "When the object each commander 
had in view was accomplished, they were allowed the widest 
latitude for other operations. 

At half past two o'clock Sunday morning. May 3d, the various 
columns are in motion. It is a bi'ight moonlight night. Gregg 
moves northeast, Davis east, Kilpatrick southeast, and Wynd- 
ham south. 

At this moment, Lee at Chancellorsville is arranging for 
his second attack on Hooker ; Sedgwick preparing to storm the 
heights of Fredericksburg ; Stonewall Jackson is mortally 
wounded, and lying in a house at Guinea's Station. Averill is 
hastening to withdraw from the vicinity of Orange Court- 
House, when he should be moving on towards Gordonsville. 
Couriers are flying through the country, along the roads lead- 
ing to Richmond, with the astounding intelligence that " the 
Yankees are coming ! " 

General Gregg has the First Maine and Tenth New York, 
with two pieces of artillery. He moves rapidly up the Central 
Railroad. There are no troops to oppose him. He burns the 
station at Beaver Dam, and Anderson's bridge across the North 
Anna, about three miles north of the station. He sends out 
detachments along the railroad, burning all the bridges in tlie 
vicinity. Another detachment moves to the South Anna, along 
the Richmond and Gordonsville turnpike, and destroys the 
bridge called the Ground-Squirrel bridge, over that stream. 
Having accomplished the object of the expedition, without any 
loss, Gregg returns and rejoins Stoneman at Thompson's Cross- 
Roads the 6th of May having made a forced march of seventy 
miles, and doing great damage. 

Kilpatrick and Davis are near together in their movements, 
going east and southeast. Kilpatrick makes his first halt thir- 
teen miles from Richmond. There are bodies of Rebel troops 



1863.] CAVALRY OPERATIONS. 217 

around him, — a large force at Hanover Junction, other 
troops in the vicinity of Ashland, and others moving out from 
the city to intercept him. His only safety is in a rapid, auda- 
cious movement. At daylight on Monday morning, May 4th, 
after a short rest for his men and horses, he is again in motion, 
directly toward Richmond. He strikes the Fredericksburg 
railroad at Hungary Station, five miles from the city, burns the 
depot, tears up the track, pushes directly down the Brooke pike, 
till he can see the spires of the city, only two miles distant. 

There is great excitement in the city, — riding to and fro of 
officers and couriers, mustering of militia, turning out of clerks 
from the departments, shouldering of muskets and hasty buck- 
ling on of cartridge-boxes, forming lines and hastening out to 
the intrenchments. Frightened farmers ride in from all direc- 
tions with the intelligence that the country is swarming with 
Yankees. A company of artillery and a considerable force of 
infantry, with cavalry pickets and scouts, which are moving out 
on the Brooke pike, are seized with a panic and rush back to 
the city. The bells are rung. The confusion and consterna- 
( tion increase. Men hide their valuables. Women and children 

cross the river to Manchester. The Union prisoners, who have 
been suffering the horrors of Libby Prison for many months, 
looking through their iron-grated windows, behold the commo- 
tion. They can hear the booming of Kilpatrick's guns. Their 
hearts bound with indescribable joy. They are thrilled witli 
the thought that deliverance is at hand. 

Kilpatrick captures Lieutenant Brown, ah aide-de-camp of 
General Winder, and an escort accompanying him, within the 
fortifications. He paroles him, dating the parole at the city of 
Richmond. 

" You are a mighty daring sort of fellows, but you 'U cer- 
tainly be captured before sundown," said the aide. 

" That may all be, but we intend to do a mighty deal of mis- 
chief first," replied Kilpatrick.* 

He leaves a portion of the troops with his artillery, which 
engages the Rebel batteries, while, guided by a negro, with 
a small detachment he moves through the fields to the rail- 

* Kilpatrick and Our Cavalry, p 49. 



218 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTIXG. [May, 

road, burns Meadow bridge, running a train of cars into the 
stream. With one regiment of cavalry he reaches the Rebel 
fortifications, captures Rebels inside them, plants his batteries, 
and throws shells almost into the city of Richmond, in face of 
their own batteries, destroys communication with Lee, burning 
bridges, tearing up railroad tracks, pulling down telegraph 
wire, running a train of cars into the river, with rebel troops 
all around him. 

Having accomplished this he moves northeast, for he can see 
Rebel columns moving up the Brooke pike and Mechanicsville 
road, to cut off his retreat. He dismisses all hope of returning 
to Stoneman. It is a critical moment. He must move in some 
direction at once. He consults his map. 

" To horse, men ! We are all right ! We are safe yet." * 
With a faithful negro to guide him, he moves through woods 
and fields, along by-paths and cross roads, going east and north- 
east, to Hanover Town, on the Pamunkey. His horses are 
jaded, but he makes a hard ride, reaches the place in safety, 
crosses the stream, sets fire to the bridge, halts his men upon 
the northern bank. The Rebels, in hot pursuit, come down 
to the other bank, mortified and chagrined and enraged at his 
escape. The Yankees throw up their caps, and greet them 
with a hearty cheer. Scouts come in and report a train of 
thirty wagons loaded with corn for the Rebel army near by. 
Kilpatrick captures them, feeds his horses with what corn he 
needs, destroys the rest, moves five miles up the river, bivouacks 
for the night, remains till one o'clock in the morning of the 
5th, then moving rapidly north to Aylett's, near Mattapony 
River, surprises three hundred Rebel cavalry, capturing two 
ofi&cers, thirty-three men, burning fifty-six wagons and a build 
ing containing twenty thousand barrels of corn and wheat, 
quantities of clothing and commissary stores, safely crossing 
the Mattapony in season to escape the ' advance of the Rebel 
cavalry in pursuit. Pushing on, later in the evening, he de 
stroys a third wagon train, burns buildings containing a large 
amount of corn, near Tappahannock, then turning southeast, 
making a forced march of twenty miles, reaches King and 

* Kilpatrick and our Cavalry, p. 50. 



1863.] CAVALRY OPERATIONS. 219 

Queen Court-House, where he finds a body of cavalry drawn 
lip to dispute his passage. He prepares to charge, but sudden- 
ly discovers that it is a portion of the Twelfth Illinois of Colonel 
Davis's command. The meeting is a joyful one. The two 
commands move on together, marching southeast, reaching 
Gloucester Point at ten o'clock on the morning of the 7th, 
where they find rest and safety under the guns of the Union 
fortifications, making a march of nearly two hundred miles in 
less than five days, with a loss of only one officer and thirty- 
seven men, having captured and paroled upward of three hun- 
dred of the enemy.* 

" Who will convey news to Hooker of our success ? " was 
the question put by Kilpatrick when at Aylctt's, after routing 
the Rebels there. 

" I am ready to go," was the quick response of Lieutenant 
Estes of the First Maine, who was acting as aide to Kilpatrick. 
Ten men were detailed to accompany him. They struck 
across the country north, and reached the Rappahannock at 
Tappahannock Court-House, dashing into that place, and 
capturing a lieutenant and fifteen men ! whom they paroled. 
The river was swollen, and they could not cross. The whole 
country was alarmed. The militia were assemljling. There 
were three hundred on the north side of the river. The 
officer in command sent over a flag of truce demanding the 
Lieutenant to surrender ; but Lieutenant Estes had no inten- 
tion of giving up just then. Finding that he could not go 
north, he turned south. In his flight he came upon a Rebel 
major, two captains, and three privates, who were captured and 
paroled. But the militia were close upon the brave Lieuten- 
ant, who found himself and party caught in a trap between the 
river and the Great Dragon Swamp. Seejng that they could 
not escape on horseback, they abandoned their horses and took 
to the swamp. The militia surrounded it, and set bloodhounds 
on the track of the fugitives, who were finally captured, and 
sent off" towards Richmond, under a strong guard ; but before 
they reached the Mattapony, Kilpatrick set them at liberty and 
took the Rebel guard along with him to Gloucester, accompa- 

* Kilpatrick's Report. 



220 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

nied by thousands of negroes, on foot, in carts, wagons, and old 
family carriages, drawn by mules, oxen, and sometimes by cows, 
— packed full, and loaded down on top, by the dark-hued but 
light-hearted creatures, who had heard of the proclamation of 
President Lincoln, and were ready to accept freedom at the 
hands of the Yankees. After resting a few days, Kilpatrick 
crossed the river on transports, marched up the tongue of land 
between the Rappahannock and Potomac, and joined Hooker at 
Falmouth, having made a complete circuit of the Rebel army. 

When Colonel Wyndham left Thompson's Cross-Roads on 
the morning of the 3d, he moved rapidly southwest towards the 
James, striking it at Columbia. The distance was about twen- 
ty miles. Tliere were many small creeks to cross, but Wynd- 
ham reached Columbia at eight o'clock. The people had just 
finished breakfast when a man, riding furiously, his hair wet 
with foam, came dashing down the street, shouting " The Yan- 
kees are coming ! the Yankees are coming ! " 

The people laughed ; some thought him crazy. The Yan- 
kees coming ? Impossible ! But a column of men in blue, 
with gleaming sabres, dashed down the road into the village. 
There were no Rebel soldiers in the vicinity to oppose Wynd- 
ham. Some of the citizens fled in consternation across the 
James, giving the alarm. But the people over the river would 
not believe their stories. 

" I '11 go and see for myself," said an old farmer, who mount- 
ed his horse and took one of his best servants with him. He 
went on till he was in sight of the Yankees, then stopped and 
looked at them in amazement. Suddenly his servant dashed 
away straight towards the Yankees. 

" Stop 1 come back ! " he shouted, but the negro galloped 
boldly into Wyndham's lines, bringing an excellent horse, while 
his late master turned the other way, more amazed than ever. 

Some of the soldiers told the inhabitants that they belonged 
io Stuart's command ; and the word spread that they were not 
Yankees after all. A young fellow, the son of a rich farmer, 
rode boldly into the lines to see Stuart's cavalry. 

" Has Lee licked the Yankees ? " he asked. 

" I reckon," said a cavalryman. 

" Good ! " said the boy. 



1863.] CAVALRY OPERATIONS. 221 

" See here, my friend, my horse has gi'n out. I am on im- 
portant business ; I should like to exchange horses with you. 
General Stuart will make it all right with you when he comes 
this way," said the soldier, who,* without further ceremony, put 
his saddle upon the noble-blooded animal' while the young man 
looked on in amazement. 

Many of the Rebel cavalrymen were dressed in blue cloth- 
ing, which had been stripped from prisoners, and that was the 
reason why the inhabitants were at a loss to know whether 
they were Yankees or Rebels. 

Colonel Wyndham burned the bridge across the James, de- 
stroyed several canal-boats loaded with supplies, burned a ware- 
house filled with corn and medical stores, dug sluices in the 
banks of the canal, and attempted to destroy the locks, but did 
not succeed. He remained till four o'clock in the afternoon, 
then pushed down the river five miles, moved north, then north- 
west, and reached Stoneman at ten o'clock in the evening, ac- 
companied by hundreds of negroes. When the alarm was given 
on a plantation that the Yankees were coming, the farmers made 
all haste to secrete their horses. 

" Here 1 Jim, Sam, Cuffee, take the horses into the woods. 
Quick ! " There was a grand commotion in all the stables, 
the negroes mounting the horses and riding into the thick 
bushes ; but as soon as they were out of their masters' sight, 
they made for the Yankees by the shortest route ! They were 
ready to do anything for their deliverers. They kept close 
watch while the soldiers rested ; visited plantations, bringing 
in chickens, turkeys, calves, and lambs, and cooked delicious 
suppers for the whole command. They kept Stoneman in- 
formed of what was going on. He learned that in two hours 
after Wyndham left Columbia, a large body of cavalry entered 
the place in pursuit, but Wyndham moved so rapidly they could 
not overtake him. 

A portion of Buford's brigade, the First Regulars, dashed 
along the Virginia Central Railroad, and tore up the track. 
A company went to the North Anna, drove off a guard of in- 
fantry from a bridge, captured five prisoners, burned the bridge, 
and returned to Stoneman without losing a man. 

The Fifth Regulars went down the James to Cartersville, 



222 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

twelve miles below Columbia, to destroy a bridge. They met a 
portion of Lee's brigade. There was skirmishing ; but while 
one portion of the Regulars was holding the Rebels in check, 
another party reached the bridge, set it on fire, and then the 
whole force returned to Stoneman. 

The Rebels all the while were hovering round Stoneman on 
the southwest, but did not dare to attack him. They did not 
know what to make of the conflicting reports. " The Yankees 
are at Frederickshall, at Ashland, at Columbia, at Thompson's 
Cross-Roads, at Louisa, at Richmond," were the reports. The 
country swarmed with Yankees ; every farmer had his story of 
woe, of stolen horses and runaway negroes ; the farmers' wives 
and daughters mourned over lost chickens, of meat-houses bro- 
ken open, jars of jelly and preserves carried away. Few of the 
Virginia farmers had ever seen a regiment of cavalry, and when 
the lines filed down the narrow roads, a squadron was magni- 
fied to a regiment, and a hundred men became a thousand. 

On Tuesday afternoon, all of the detachments except Kilpat- 
riQjk's and a portion of Davis's having returned, Stoneman 
commenced his homeward march, and recrossed the Rapidan 
at Raccoon Ford, in safety, though he was obliged to swim his 
horses through the swollen stream. There was no enemy to 
molest him, none to hang upon his rear. He recrossed the 
Rappahannock at Kelley's Ford, and rejoined Hooker at Fal- 
mouth, having successfully accomplished what he had under- 
taken. 

The Rebels were mortified, chagrined, and exasperated. The 
success which they had achieved in compelling Hooker to re- 
tire from Chancellorsville was in a measure counterbalanced 
by Stoneman's operations, especially by Kilpatrick's audacious 
exploits. 

This cavalry movement was the first great raid of the war. 
It was not only a success, but it toughened the soldiers and 
prepared them for the hardships and battles which followed on 
the Upper Rappahannock, at Aldie, Middleburg, and Gettys- 
burg. It gave confidence. The men felt that they were no 
longer the laughing-stock of the army. They had other em- 
ployment now than guarding teams or keeping watch on 
the picket line. There was pleasurable excitement in rid- 



1863.] i, CAVALRY OPERATIONS. ' 223 

ing through the enemy's country, making dashes into villages, 
charging upon the enemy, riding through the dense forests, and 
findmg good living at every farm-house. There were plenty of 
volunteers for any enterprise. 

A few days later Stuart attempted a counter raid in rear of 
the army, but was driven across the Rappahannock with ease. 
Then came the severe struggle at Brandy Station. Lee had 
started on his Gettysburg campaign, and Stuart was kept on 
the flank to conceal the movement, but Kilpatrick and Gregg 
unmasked it. Then as Stuart swung along the base of the 
Blue Ridge, while Lee went down the Shenandoah with the 
infantry, the contest was renewed in. a running fight from 
Aldie to Snicker's Gap. Li all of these engagements the su- 
periority of the Union cavalry was fully established. The 
Union soldiers had learned to ride horses ; and from Stone- 
man's raid to the capture of Jeff Davis they rode to some 
purpose. 



224 FOUE YEAES OF FIGHTING. ^[Marcll, 



CHAPTER XY. 

THE ATLANTIC COAST. 

The encounter between the Merrimack and the Monitor had 
set the world agog on the matter of armored vessels, A fleet 
of ironclads had been prepared, with the special object in view 
of recapturing Fort Sumter. It was an event looked forward 
to with intense interest, not only in the North, but throughout 
the civilized world. Having a desire to witness that attack, I 
proceeded South, leaving New York on the 7th of February, 
1863, on board the steamer Augusta Dinsmore, belonging to 
Adams's Express. Captain Crowell, her commander, was a 
sharp-eyed Connecticut Yankee, who kept the lead constantly 
going as we ran down the coast, and who was as well acquaint- 
ed with all the soundings as the skipper of Nantucket immor- 
talized by Mr. Fields, who detected the soil of Marm Hackett's 
garden by smell and taste, although Nantucket had sunk. 

The harbor of Port Royal was crowded with shipping. Gen- 
eral Foster's force from North Carolina had just arrived, to 
participate in a land movement. General Hunter was in com- 
mand of the department, and there arose at once a question 
of jurisdiction, which paralyzed the operations of the army. 
The officers and soldiers at Port Royal, weary with doing noth- 
ing, had fitted up a theatre. The building was used for church 
services on Sunday. Attending the morning service the day 
after our arrival, I found an audience of about one hundred 
persons, among them General Hunter and staff. The clergy- 
man, an Episcopalian, in a rusty black gown, stood upon the 
stage. A soldier played a melodeon and conducted the sing- 
ing. In the afternoon there was a business meeting in the 
African Baptist church, which I also attended. Rev. Abraham 
Murchison, a tall copper-hued negro, was pastor, and presided 
over the deliberations. He had been a slave in Savannah, but 
made his way to our lines, was a storekeeper or huckster on 



1 ftftf^ 1- -J THE ATLANTIC COAST. 225 

week-days, and preached ou Sunday. The church was a plain 
wooden building, erected by order of General Mitchell for an 
African cliurch. There were two rows of benches, a plain pine 
pulpit, a ventilated ceiling, from which three or four glass lamps 
were suspended, — all being very much like the rude churches 
to be found in the thinly-settled prairies of Illinois. The con- 
gregation were singing when we entered, — 

" Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 
Stand dressed in living green, 
So to the Jews fair Canaan stood, 
While Jordan rolled between." 

The leader was a round-headed, compact, energetic negro, 
twenty-five years of age, whose zeal was bounded only by the 
capacity of his lungs. It was the well-known tune " Jordan," 
sung by millions in times past and present. The women oc- 
cupied one side of the house, the men sitting opposite. It 
was a dusky view, looking down the aisle from my seat at the 
right of the pulpit. They were countenances not types of 
beauty, not attractive intellectually. But there was perfect 
decorum and solemnity. All heads were bowed when the 
preacher addressed the Throne of Grace. It was a prayer 
full of supplications and thanksgiving, expressed in fitting 
words. 

The church had a case of discipline. Their sexton had 
been remiss in lighting the lamps, and was arraigned for trial. 
The pastor called the sexton to the front, and thus indicted 
him : — 

" John, my son, you are arraigned for not doing as you have 
agreed, and covenanted, to do. We pay you one hundred and 
twenty dollars a. year for lighting these yere beautiful lamps 
which the church have so generously provided, and, sir, you 
have been remiss in your duty. On Thursday night, when we 
were assembled for holy prayer, we were in darkness. You did 
wrong. You broke your obligations. You must be punished. 
What say you ? Brethren, we will hear what he has to say." 

" I lighted the lamps, sah, but they went out ; de oil was 
bad, I reckon," said the sexton. 

The pastor called upon one of the deacons to take the chair. 
He was of middle age, black as anthracite coal, bald-headed, 

15 



226 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. "[^IfuvJi.^ 

and was dressed in pants and coat made of old sail-cloth. By 
liis side sat his colleague, wearing a United States soldiers' 
blue overcoat. The preacher, taking his stand in the aisle, 
laid aside his clerical authority, and became one of the breth- 
ren. " Brother cheerman, our brother am presumptws. He 
say he light de lamps and dey go out. How does he know dey 
go out ? He ought to stay and see dey don't go out. He am 
presumptus and should be punished. I move, sir, dat our 
brother be set aside from commin to de Lord's table till he make 
satisfaction." 

A brother seconded the motion, and the question was put by 
the deacon. Two or three voted affirmatively, but nearly all 
negatively. The question was not understood. The preacher 
explained : " You is discomposed in your minds. You do not 
understand de question. Can any of you tell me how you 
voted ? " 

The question was put a second time, and the offending mem- 
ber was unanimously debarred the privileges of the church. 

After the discipline a candidate for admission was presented, 
a stout young man, named Jonas. 

" Well, my son, where are you from ? " said the pastor. 

" From Charleston, sir." 

" Was you a member of the church there, my son ? " 

" Yes, sir, I was a member of the church." 

" Does any one here know anything about Jonas ? " 

A half-dozen responded " Yes," all agreeing that his deport- 
ment was correct. 

" Did you bring your 'stificate with you ? " 

" No, sir ; I came away in a hurry, and had n't any time to 
get one." 

" Yes, my son ; we understand that you were obliged to 
leave in a hurry or not at all. But what made you become a 
Christian ? " 

" Because I felt I was a sinner." 

" Did you pray, my son ? " 

" Yes, sir ; and I feel that through the mercy of Jesus Christ 
my sins are pardoned." 

It was a simple narrative, and expressed with evident con- 
sciousness of the solemnity of the declaration. It was plain 



.^ 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 227 

that in spiritual things these people were further advanced 
than in business matters. The evidence was satisfactory, and 
the member received by an extension of right hand of fel- 
lowship on the part of the pastor. In the evening Rev. Mr. 
Murchison preached from the text, " And they shall call upon 
the rocks and mountains to fall upon them," &c. 

It was a crude, disjointed discourse, having very little logic, 
a great many large words, some of them ludicrously misap- 
plied, yet contained striking thoughts, and appropriate similes. 
This was a congregation standing on the lowest step of civili- 
zation. Minister and people were but a twelvemonth out of 
bondage. All behind them was barbarism. Before them was 
a future, unrevealed, but infinitely better than what their past 
had been. Their meeting was orderly, and I have seen grave 
legislative bodies in quite as much of a muddle over a simple 
question as that congregation of black men emerging from 
their long night of darkness. 

On the following Sunday I was present at a service on Ladies' 
Island. The owner of the plantation where the meeting was 
held erected his house in full view of Beaufort, and near the 
bank of the stream where the tide ebbs and flows upon the 
sandy beach. It was a mean mansion, standing on posts, to 
give free circulation to the air underneath. In hot summer 
days the shade beneath the house was the resort of all the 
poultry of the premises. Thousands of hard-working New 
England mechanics live in better houses, yet from Beaufort the 
place made an imposing show, surrounded by orange and mag- 
nolia trees. The sandy acres of the plantaMon stretched to- 
wards St. Helena. A short distance from the planter's house 
were the weather-beaten cabins of the negroes, mere hovels, 
without window-panes, with mud chimneys, — the homes of 
generations who had gone from the darkness and liopeless- 
ness of a wearying life to the rest and quiet of the grave. 

On that morning when Admiral Dupont shelled tlie Eebels 
out of the forts at Hilton Head and Bay Point, the owner of 
these acres made a hasty exit from his house. He sent his 
overseer to the cabins to hurry up the negroes, but to his sur- 
prise not a negro was to be found. The colored people had 
heard the thundering down the bay. They knew its meaning. 



228 FOUR YEAES OF FiGiiTrNG. [March, 

It set their hearts beating as they never had throbbed before. 
It was the sweetest music they ever had heard. A horseman 
came riding furiously up to the house, with terror in his coun- 
tenance. The master hastened out to know how the battle 
was going. 

" The Yankees have taken the forts ! " said the messenger 
The master became pale. 

" You had better get your negroes together, and be ready 
for a move," said the messenger. 

Sharp ears had heard all this, — the ears of Sam, a colored 
man, who, seeing the herald arrive in hot haste, had the curi- 
osity to hear what he had to say, then bounded like a deer 
to the cabins, running from door to door, whispering to the 
inmates, " To the woods ! to the woods ! De Yankees hab 
taken de forts, — massa is going to de mainland, and is going 
to take us wid him." 

The cabins were deserted in an instant ; and five minutes 
later, when the overseer came round to gather his drove of 
human cattle, he found empty hovels. The planter and his 
overseer were obliged to do their own hasty packing up. 

The plantation was in the hands of a warm-hearted Christian 
gentleman from Massachusetts, Mr. Norton. The people of 
the estate gathered for worship in the large parlor of the 
house. 

The room was eighteen or twenty feet square, and had a 
wide-mouthed fireplace, in which a cheerful fire of pitch knots 
was blazing. There was a settee, a mahogany sideboard, where 
the former owner was accustomed to quaff" his wines and liq- 
uors. • Seats and chairs were brought in. The big dinner-bell 
was rung, and the people, thirty or forty in number, came 
in, men, women, and children. Some of the women brought 
their infants. Uncle Jim, the patriarch of the plantation, was 
too feeble to attend. The superintendent, Mr. Norton, com- 
forted his heart by reading to him a chapter in the Bible and 
offering prayers in the miserable cabin, where the old man was 
lying on a pile of rags. Uncle Jim was a sincere Christian. 
The word of God was sweet to him. His heart overflowed 
with thanks and praise, for the display of God's great goodness 
to him and his people. 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 229 

A hymn was lined off by Mr. Norton, after the fashion of 
our fathers. William, a stout, middle-aged man, struck into 
St. Martin's, and the congregation joined, not reading the 
music exactly as good old Tansur composed it, for there were 
crooks, turns, slurs, and appoggiaturas, not to be found in 
any printed copy. It was sung harshly, nasally, and dragged 
out in long, slow notes. 

A pure-blooded negro, Sancho, offered prayer. He had seen 
great hardship in life and had suffered more than his name- 
sake, the squire, who was once unceremoniously tossed in 
a blanket. His prayer was the free utterance of a warm 
heart. It was a familiar talk with Jesus, his best friend. 
He improved the opportunity to mingle an exhortation with 
his supplication. He thus addressed the unconverted : — 

" 0, my poor, impenitent fellow-sinner, what you think you 
are doing? Where you think you are going? Death will ride 
up soon in a big black carriage and take you wid him down to 
de regions of deep darkness. Why don't you repent now, and 
den he will carry you up into de light of paradise ! " 

Looking forward to the hour of the Christian's release frum 
the bondage of this life, he said, in conclusion, "And now, 
good Lord, when we have done chaw all de hard bones and 
swallowed all de bitter pills, we trust de good Lord will take 
us to himself." 

After an address from the superintendent, Sancho rose. 

"My belobed friends," said he, "I neber 'spected to see such 
a day as dis yere. For twenty years, I hired my time of old 
massa, I was 'bleeged to pay him twelve dollars a month in ad- 
vance, and if I did n't hab de money ready, he wollopped me. 
But I 's a free man now. De good Lord hab done it all. I can't 
read. It is de great desire ob my heart to learn to read, so dat 
I can read de Bible all my own self; but I 's too old to learn. 
But I rejoice dat my chillen can hab de opportunity to study de 
precious word. De Lord is doin great tings for us in dese yere 
days. Ole massa, was a purty good massa, and I prays de Lord 
to make him lay down his weapons ob rebellion and become a 
good Union man and a disciple ob de Lord Jesus, for Jesus tells 
us dat we must lub our enemies." 

4.fter the exercises of the religious meeting were concluded, 



230- 



FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[March, 



the chairs were set aside, and they began a " praise meeting," 
or singing meeting. Most of their music is plaintive. The' 
piece frequently commences with a recitative by one voice, and 
at the end of the first line the chorus joins. The words are 
often improvised to suit the occasion. 

A favorite song is " Roll, Jordan, roll," in which the pro- 
gression of the melody is very descriptive of the rolling of 
waves upon the beach. There are many variations of the mel- 
ody, but that here given is as I heard it sung by the negroes of 
Bythewood. 

ROLL JORDAN 



-r^- 



^=4cifv 



±=t=tzi 



-o-^- 



:=T 



Little children sitting on the tree of life To hear the Jordan roll ; 



-^ 



f 



U^ 



-J^ozw=W=-W- 




^=t=\- 



=1: 



=1 



roll, Jordan roll, Jordan roll, Jordan roll. 



VVe march the angel march, 




march the angel march, my soul is rising heavenward To hear the Jordan roll. 






I I I 



95: 



^ 



ri-^ -. 



^ 



a^v-i^— ^ 1 



-•■ -»- ■» -••. N 



=^=^ 



zfzcstzst 



I I 



^=p=^ 



r 



The verses vary only in recitation. If Mr. Jones is pres- 
ent he will hear, " Mr. Jones is sitting on the tree of life." 
There is no pause, and before the last roll is ended the one 
giving tlie recitative places another personage on the tree, and 
thus Jordan rolls along. 

As the song goes on the enthusiasm rises. They sing louder 



I. 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 231 

and stronger. The recitative is given with increased vigor, 
and the chorus swells with increasing volume. They beat 
time, at first, with their hands, then their feet. They rise 
from their seats. William begins to shuffle his feet. Anna, a 
short, thick-set woman, wearing a checkered dress, and an apron, 
which once was a window-curtain, claps her hands, makes a 
short, quick jerk of her body, stamps her feet on the unac- 
cented part of the measure, keeping exact syncopation. Cath- 
erine and Sancho catch the inspiration. They go round in a 
circle, shuffling, jerking, shouting louder and louder, while 
those outside of the circle respond with increasing vigor, all 
stamping, clapping their hands, and rolling out the chorus. 
William seems to be in a trance, his eyes are fixed, yet he 
goes on with a double-shuffle, till the perspiration stands in 
beads upon his face. Every joint seems hung on wires. 
Feet, legs, arms, head, body, and hands swing and jump like 
a child's dancing Dandy Jim. Sa.nclio enters into it with all 
his heart, soul, mind, and might, clapping his hands, rolling 
his eyes, looking upward in ecstasy and outward upon the 
crowd, as if he were their spiritual father and guardian. 

Thus it went on till nature was exhausted. When the meet- 
ing broke up, they all came round in procession, shaking hands 
with the superintendent and the strangers present, and singing 

a parting song, 

" There 's a meeting here to-night ! " 

The superintendent informed me that the children who at- 
tended school could not be coaxed to take part in those praise 
meetings. They had learned to sing Sunday-school songs, and 
evidently looked upon the plantation songs of their fathers and 
mothers as belonging to their bondage and not worthy to be 
sung now that they were free. 

A short distance from Hilton Head is the town of Mitchel- 
ville, laid out by the lamented astronomer. General Mitchell, 
who fell a victim to the yellow-fever in the summer of 1862. 
The town is on a broad sandy plain, bordered by groves and 
thickets of live-oak, palmetto, and the coast pine. 

At that time there were about seventy houses, — or cabins 
rather, — of the rudest description, built of logs, chinked with 
clay brought up from the beach, roofs of long split shingles, 



\ 



232 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

board floors, windows with shutters, — plain board blinds, 
without sash or glass. Each house had a quarter of an acre 
of land attached. There was no paint or lime, not even 
whitewash, about them. It was just such a place as might be 
expected in a new country, where there were no saw-mills or 
brick-kilns, — a step in advance of a hole in the ground or a 
bark wigwam. It was the beginning of the experiment of 
ci%ilization on the part of a semi-barbarous people just released 
from abject bondage, and far from being free men. 

I looked into the first cabin, and seeing an old man sitting 
before the fire, greeted him with " How do you do. Uncle ? " 
the sobriquet of all middle-aged negro men. 

" 'Pears how I 'm rather poorly, — I 's got de chills, boss." 

He was a slave in Florida, made his escape from his master's 
plantation fifty miles inland, reached Fernandina, and entered 
the lines of the Union army. He was dressed in pants made 
of old sailcloth, and the tattered cast-off blouse of a Union 
soldier. The room was twelve feet square. I could see 
through the .chinking in a hundred places. At the coping of 
the roof, where it should have joined the wall, there was a wide 
•opening all around, which allowed all the warmth to escape. 
The furniture consisted of three tables, four chairs, a mahog- 
any wash-stand, all of which once stood in the mansion of some 
island planter. There was a Dutch-oven on the hearth, the 
sight of which made my mouth water for the delicious tea- 
cakes of childhood. There were pots, kettles, baskets, and bags, 
and a pile of rags, old blankets which the soldiers had thrown 
aside. It required but a few words to thaw out Uncle Jacob, 
who at once commenced fumbling in his pockets, producing, 
after a studious search, a brown paper, carefully folded, en- 
closing the name of a gentleman in New York who had taken 
home Uncle Jacob's nephew. He wanted me to read it to 
him, — the name, the street, the number, — that he might 
learn it by heart. 

" He is learning to write, boss, and I shall have a letter from 
him by and by," said the old man, in glee. He handed me 
three letters, all from men who once were slaves, not written 
l)y them individually, but by amanuenses. One was a sailor 
on the gunboat Ottawa, off Charleston ; one was in New York 
city, and the third in Ohio. 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 233 

" Please, boss, I should like tp hab you read 'em," he 
said. 

It was a pleasure to gratify the kind-hearted man, who lis- 
tened with satisfaction beaming from every line of his counte- 
nance. 

Uncle Jacob had been five months in the employ of the 
United States, unloading vessels at Hilton Head, and had re- 
ceived only his rations and a little clothing. 

" Well, Uncle Jacob, which would you rather be, a freeman 
or a slave ? " I asked. 

" 0, Lor' bless you, boss, I would n't like to be a slave 
again." 

" Do you think you can take care of yourself? " 

" Jes let gubberment pay me, boss, and see if I can't." 

It was spoken with great earnestness. 

In the next cabin I found Peter, who had taken the name of 
Brown, that of his former master. Slavery gave its victims but 
one name. General Mitchell said that they were entitled to 
another name, and he ordered that they should take that 
of their former masters ; hence there are Peter Beauregards, 
James Trenholms, Susan Rhetts, Julia Barnwells, on the plan- 
tations of the Sea Islands. 

" Mr. Brown, did you ever hear about the Abolitionists ? " I 
asked. 

" Yes, sir, tank you, I 's he'd of 'em." 

" What did you hear about them ? " 

" 0, dey is a werry bad sort of people, sir. Old massa said 
dat if dey could get a chance dey would take all our picka,- 
ninnies and smash der brains out agin de trees ! '' 

" Did you ever see an Abolitionist ? " 

" No, sir, tank you, nebber saw one." 

'^' Well, Mr. Brown, I am one." 

Mr. Brown started involuntarily. He looked me all over from 
head to feet, giving a keen search. " 'Pears how I should n't 
tink you could hab de heart to do it, sir." 

"Do I look as though I should like to kill your little 
ones ? " 

" No, sir, I don't tink you would." 

I told him who the Abolitionists were, and what they wished 



234 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

to do, — that they were friends of the slaves, and always had 
been. He grasped my hand, and said, " God bless you, sir." 
And then burst into hearty laughter. 

Having been informed that it would be impossible to ob- 
tain a fowl of the negroes at that season of the year, I made 
the attempt ; but though I offered treble the value, not 
one would part with a hen. They were looking forward to 
broods of chickens which would bring them in "heaps" of 
money in the fall of the year. The negro race understands 
the value of money quite as well as we who boast of Anglo 
Saxon blood. 

Entering the head-quarters of the commanding officer one 
day, I saw a thin, spare colored woman sitting before the fire. 
She nodded and smiled, ran her eyes over me, as if to take 
in every feature or peculiarity of my person and dress, then 
gazed into the fire and seemed absorbed in her own thoughts. 
A friend said, " That is our Sojourner Truth." 

She had brought off several companies of negroes from the 
mainland, and had given a great deal of information concern- 
ing the movements of the Rebels. She had penetrated swamps, 
endured hardships, eluded Rebel pickets, visiting the planta- 
tions at midnight, and conversing with the slaves, 

" I can travel all through the South, I reckon," she said. 

" Are you not afraid that the Rebels will catch you ? " 

" Well, honey, I reckon they could n't keep me," she said, 
with a smile. 

She had exhibited such remarkable shrewdness and finesse 
in her exploits, and had rendered such valuable services to the 
department, that she was held in high esteem. 

At that time, Mrs, Frances D, Gage, favorably known as a 
writer for the press, was residing on Paris Island. Seated 
one evening by the bright fire blazing on her hearth, I listened 
to her narrative of Sojourner Truth, who had been a slave, who 
had penetrated the far South in search of her lost children, 
who had run off many slaves to Canada, and who went round 
the country, impelled by the conviction that she had been 
called of God to testify against the sins of the people ; hence 
her name, " Sojourner Truth." 

The narration revealed traits of character, not unfrequently 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 235 

seen in the negro race, and it will not be out of place in this 
chapter, which is intended to give the position of a race at 
its lowest plane of life. 

This wonderful woman lives in modern art. She is the 
original Libyan Sibyl, a statue by Mr. Story, which was more 
impressive than all others in the gallery of the World's Exhibi- 
tion in London in 1862. Sojourner once called upon Mrs. 
Stowe, who has given us this account of the interview: * — 

On her head she wore a bright Madras handkerchief, arranged 
as a turban, after the manner of her race. She seemed perfectly 
self-possessed and at her ease, — in fact, there was almost an uncon- 
scious superiority, not unmixed v/ith a solemn twinkle of humor, in 
the odd. composed manner in which she looked down on me. Her 
whole air had at times a gloomy sort of drollery which impressed one 
strangely. 

" So, this is you" she said. 

" Yes," I answered. 

" Well, honey, de Lord bless ye ! I jes' thought I 'd like to come 
an' have a look at ye. You 's heerd o' me, I reckon ? " she added. 

" Yes, I think I have. You go about lecturing, do you not ? " 

" Yes, honey, that 's what I do. The Lord has made me a sign 
unto this nation, an' I go round a-testifyin', an' showin' on 'em their 
sins agin my people." 

So saying, she took a seat, and, stooping over and crossing her arms 
on her knees, she looked down on the floor, and appeared to fall into a 
sort of revery. Her great gloomy eyes and her dark face seemed to 
work with some undercurrent of feeling ; she sighed deeply, and occa- 
sionally broke out, — 

" Lord ! Lord ! Oh, the tears, an' the groans, an' the moans ! 
O Lord ! " 

By this time I thought her manner so original that it might be worth 
while to call down my friends ; and she seeme.d perfectly well pleased 
with the idea. An audience was what she wanted, — it mattered not 
whether high or low, learned or ignorant. She had things to say, and 
was ready to say them at all times, and to any one. 

I called down Dr. Beecher, Professor Allen, and two or three other 
clergymen, who, together with my husband and family, made a roomful. 
No princess could have received a drawing-room with more composed 

* Atlantic Monthly, April, 1863. 



236 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

dignity than Sojourner her audience. She stood among them cahn and 
erect as one of her own native palm-trees waving alone in the d(sert. 
I presented one after another to her, and at last said, — 

" Sojourner, this is Dr. Beecher. He is a very celebrated preacher." 

" is he ? " she said, offering her hand in a condescending maimer, and 
looking down. on his white head. " Ye dear lamb, I 'm glad to see ye ! 
De Lord bless ye ! I loves preachers. I 'm a kind o' preacher my- 
self." 

" You are ? " said Dr. Beecher. " Do you preach from the Bible ? " 

" No, honey, can't preach from de Bible, — can't read a letter." 

" Why, Sojourner, what do you preach from, then ? " 

Pier answer was given with a solemn power of voice, peculiar to her- 
self, that hushed every one in the room. 

" When I preaches, I has jest one text to preach from, an' I always 
preaches from this one. My text is, ' When I found Jesus.' " 

" Well, you could n't have a better one," said one of the ministers. 

She paid no attention to him, but stood and seemed swelling with her 
own thoughts, and then began this narration : — 

" Well, now, I '11 jest have to go back, an' tell ye all about it. Ye 
see, we was all brought over from Africa, father an' mother an' I, an' a 
lot more of us ; an' we was sold up an' down, an' hither an' yon ; an' I 
can 'member, when I was a little thing, not bigger than this 'ere," point- 
ing to her grandson, " how my ole mammy would sit out o' doors in the 
evenin', an' look up at the stars an' gi'oan. She 'd groan an' groan, an' 
says I to her, — 

" ' Mammy, what makes you groan so ? ' 

" An' she 'd say, — 

" ' Matter enough, chile ! I 'm groanin' to think o' my poor children : ' 
they don't know where I be, an' I don't know where they be : they 
looks up at the stars, an' I looks up at the stars, but I can't tell where 
they be. 

" ' Now,' she said, ' chile, when you 're grown up, you may be sold 
away from your mother an' all your ole friends, an' have great troubles 
come on ye ; an' when you has these troubles come on ye, ye jes' go to 
God, an' He '11 help ye.' 

" An' says I to her, — 

" ' Who is God, anyhow, mammy ? ' 

" An' says she, — 

" ' Why, chile, you jes' look up dar ! It 's Him that made all 
dem ! ' 

" Well, I did n't mind much 'bout God in them days. I grew up 
pretty lively an' strong, an' could row a boat, or ride a horse, or work 
round, an' do 'most anything. 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 237 

" At last I got sold away to a real hard raassa an' missis. Oh, I tell 
you, they was hard ! 'Feared like I could n't please 'em nohow. An' 
then I thought o' what my old mammy told me about God ; an' I thought 
I 'd got into trouble, sure enough, an' I wanted to find God, an' I heerd 
some one tell a story about a man that met God on a threshin'-floor, 
an' I thought, ' Well an' good, I '11 have a threshin'-floor, too.' So I 
went down in the lot, an' I threshed down a place real hard, an' I used 
to go down there every day, an' pray an' cry with all my might, a-pray- 
in' to the Lord to make my massa an' missis better, but it did n't seem 
to do no good ; an' so says I, one day, — 

" ' God, I been a-askin' ye, an' askin' ye, an askin' ye, for all this 
long time, to make my massa an' missis better, an' you don't do it, an' 
what can be the reason ? Why, maybe you ca7i't. Well, I should n't 
wonder ef you could n't. Well, now, I tell you, I '11 make a bargain 
with you. Ef you 'II help me git away from my m-assa an' missis, I '11 
agree to be good ; but ef you don't help me, I really don't think I can 
be. Now,' says I, ' I want to git away ; but the trouble 's jest here : 
ef I try to git away in the night, I can't see ; an' ef I try to git away 
in the daytime, they '11 see me, an' be after me.' 

" Then the Lord said to me, ' Get up two or three hours afore day- 
light, an' start off.' 

" An' says I, ' Thank 'ee, Lord ! that 's a good thought.' 

"So up I got, about three o'clock in the mornin', an' I started an' trav- 
elled pretty fast, till, when the sun rose, I was clear away from our 
place an' our folks, an' out o' sight. An' then I begun to think I did 
n't know nothin' where to go. So I kneeled down, an' says I, — 

" ' Well, Lord, you 've started me out, an' now please to show rae 
where to go.' 

" Then the Lord made a house appear to me, an' He said to me that 
I was to walk on till I saw that house, an' then go in an' ask the people 
to take me. An' I travelled all day, an' did n't come to the house till 
late at night ; but when I saw it, sure enough, I went in, an' I told the 
folks the Lord sent me ; an' they was Quakers, an' real kind they was 
to me. They jes' took me in, an' did for me as kind as ef I 'd been 
one of 'em ; an' after they 'd giv me supper, they took me into a room 
where there was a great, tall, white bed ; an' they told me to sleep 
there. Well, honey, I was kind o' skeered when they left me alone 
with that great white bed ; 'cause I never had been in a bed in my 
life. It never came into my mind they could mean me to sleep in it. 
An' so I jes' camped down under it, on the floor, an' then I slep' pretty 
well. In the mornin', when they came in, they asked me ef I had n't 
been asleep ; an' I said, ' Yes, I never slep' better.' An' they said, 



238 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

* Why, you have n't been in the bed ! ' An' says I, ' Laws, you did n't 
think o' sech a thing as my sleejjin' in dat 'ar' bed, did you ? I never 
heerd o' sech a thing in my Hfe.' 

" Well, ye see, honey, I stayed an' lived with 'em. An' now jes' 
look here : instead o' keepin' my promise an' bein' good, as I told the 
Lord I would, jest as soon as everything got a-goin' easy, I forgot all 
about God. 

'' Pretty well don't need no help ; an' I gin' up prayin'. I lived 
there two or three years, an' then the slaves in New York were all set 
free, an' ole massa came to our house to make a visit, an' he asked me 
ef I did n't want to go back an' see the folks on the ole place. An' I 
told him I did. So he said, ef I 'd jes' git into the wagon with him, 
he 'd carry me over. Well, jest as I was goin' out to git into the wagon, 
I met God! an' says I, ' God, I did n't know as you was so great !' 
An' I turned right round an' come into the house, an' set down in my 
room ; for 't was God all around me. I could feel it burnin', burnin', 
burnin' all around me, an' goin' through me ; an' I saw I was so wicked, 
it seemed as ef it would burn me up. An' I said, ' O somebody, some- 
body, stand between God an' me! for it burns me!' Then, honey, when 
I said so, I felt as it were somethin' like an amberill [umbrella] that 
came between me an' the light, an' I felt it was somebody, — somebody 
that stood between me an' God ; an' it felt cool, like a shade ; an' says 
I, ' Who 's this that stands between me an' God ? Is it old Cato ? ' 
He was a pious old preacher ; but then I seemed to see Cato in the 
light, an' he was all polluted an' vile, like me ; an' I said, ' Is it old 
Sally ? ' an' then I saw her, an' she seemed jes' so. An' then says I, 
' Who is this ? ' An' then, honey, for a while it was like the sun shinin' 
in a pail o' water, when it moves up an' down ; for I begun to feel 
't was somebody that loved me ; an' I tried to know him. An' I said, 
' I know you ! I know you ! I know you ! ' — an' then I said, ' I don't 
know you ! I don't know you ! I don't know you ! ' An' when I said, 

* I know you, I know you,' the light came ; an' when I said, ' I don't 
know y©u, I don't know you,' it went, jes' like the sun in a pail o' water. 
An' finally somethin' spoke out in me an' said, 'T'/z/s is Jesus!' An' I 
spoke out with all my might, an' says I, ' This is Jesus ! Glory be to 
God I ' An' then the whole world grew bright, an' the trees they 
waved an' waved in glory, an' every little bit o' stone on the ground 
shone like glass ; an' I shouted an' said, < Praise, praise, praise to the 
Lord ! ' An' I begun to feel sech a love in my soul as I never felt be- 
fore, — love to all creatures. An' then, all of a sudden, it stopped, an' 
I said, ' Dar 's de white folks, that have abused you an' beat you an' 
abused your people, — think o' them ! ' But then there came another 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 239 

rush of love through ray soul, an' I cried out loud, — ' Lord, Lord, I 
can love even de white folks ! '' 

" Honey, I jes' walked round an' round in a dream. Jesus loved me ! 
I knowed it, — I felt it. Jesus was my Jesus. Jesus would love me 
always. I did n't dare tell nobody ; 't was a great secret. Everything 
had been got away from me that I ever had ; an' I thought that ef I 
let white folks know about this, maybe they 'd get Him away, — so I 
said, ' I '11 keep this close. I won't let any one know.' " 

" But, Sojourner, had you never been told about Jesus Christ ? " 
" No, honey. I had n't heerd no preachin', — been to no meetin'. 
Nobody had n't told me. I 'd kind o' heerd of Jesus, but thought he 
was like Giueral Lafayette, or some o' them. But one night there was 
a Methodist meetin' somewhere in our parts, an' I went ; an' they got 
up an' begun for to tell der 'speriences ; an' de fust one begun to speak. 
I started, 'cause he told about Jesus. ' Why,' says I to myself, ' dat 
man 's found him too ! ' An' another got up an' spoke, an' I said, 
' He 's found him, too ! ' An' finally I said, ' Why, they all know him ! ' 
I was so happy ! An' then they sung this hymn " : (Here Sojourner 
sang, in a strange, cracked voice, but evidently with all her soul and 
might, mispronouncing the English, but seeming to derive as much ele- 
vation and comfort from bad English as from good) : — 

" There is a holy city, 

A world of light above, 
Above the stairs and regions,* 
Built by the God of love." 

" Well, den ye see, after a while I thought I 'd go back an' see de 
folks on de ole place. AVell, you know, de law had passed dat de culled 
folks was all free ; an' my old missis, she had a daughter married about 
dis time who went to live in Alabama, — an' what did she do but give 
her my son, a boy about de age of dis yer, for her to take down to 
Alabama ? When I got back to de ole place, they told me about it, 
an' I went right up to see ole missis, an' says I, — 

'* ' Missis, have you been an' sent my son away down to Alabama ? ' 

" ' Yes, I have,' says she ; * he 's gone to live with your young 
missis.' 

" ' Missis,' says I, ' how could you do it ? ' 

" ' Poh ! ' says she, ' what a fuss you make about a little nigger ! 
Got more of 'em now than you know what to do with.' 

" I tell you, I stretched up. I felt as tall as the world ! 

* Starry regions. 



240 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Marcll, 

" ' Missis, says I, ' / HI have my son hack agin ! ' 

" She laughed. 

" ' JoM will, you nigger ? How you goin' to do it ? You ha'n't got 
no money.' 

" ' No, Missis, — but God has, — an' you '11 see He '11 help me ! ' — 
an' I turned round an' went out. 

'' O, but I was angry to have her speak to me so haughty an' so 
scornful, as ef my chile was n't worth anything. I said to God, ' O 
Lord, render unto her double ! It was a dreadful prayer, an' I did n't 
know how true it would come. 

" Well, I did n't rightly know which way to turn ; but I went to the 
Lord, an' I said to Him, ' O Lord, ef I was as rich as you be, an' you 
was as poor as I be, I 'd help you, — you know I would ; and, oh, do 
help me ! ' An' I felt sure then that He would. 

" Well, I talked with people, an' they said I must git the case before 
a grand jury. So I went into the town when they was holdin' a court, 
to see ef I could find any grand jury. An' I stood round the court- 
house, an' when they was a-comin' out, I walked right up to the grand- 
est-lookin' one I could see, an' says I to him, — 

" ' Sir, be you a grand jury ?' 

" An' then he wanted to know why I asked, an' I told him all about 
it ; an' he asked me all sorts of questions, an' finally he says to 
me, — 

" ' I think, ef you pay me ten dollars, that I 'd agree to get your son 
for you.' An' says he, poiutin' to a house over the way, ' You go 'long 
an' tell your story to the folks in that house, an' I guess they '11 give you 
the money.' 

" Well, I went, an' I told them, an' they gave me twenty dollars; an' 
then I thought to myself, ' Ef ten dollars will git him, twenty dollars 
will git him sartin.' So I carried it to the man all out, an' said, — 

" ' Take it all, — only be sure an' git him.' 

" Well, finally they got the boy brought back ; an' then they tried to 
frighten him, an' to make him say that I was n't his mammy, an' that 
he did n't know me ; but they could n't make it out. They gave him 
to me, an' I took him an' carried him home ; an' when I came to take 
off his clothes, there was his poor little back all covered with scars an' 
hard lumps, where they flogged him. 

" Well, you see, honey, I told you how I prayed the Lord to render 
unto her double. Well, it came true ; for I was up at ole missis' house 
not long after, an' I heerd 'em readin' a letter to her how her daughter's 
husband had murdered her, — how he 'd thrown her down an' stamped 
the fife out of her, when he was in liquor ; an' my ole missis, she giv a 



I 



1863.} THE ATLANTIC COAST. 241 

screech, an' fell flat on the floor. Then says I, '0 Lord, I did n't mean 
all that ! You took me up too quick.' 

" Well, I went in an' tended that poor critter all night. She was 
out of her mind, — a-cryin', an' callin' for her daughter ; an' I held her 
poor ole head on my arm, an' watched for her as ef she 'd been my 
babby. An' I watched by her, an' took care on her all through her sick- 
ness after that, an' she died in my arms, poor thing ! " 

In the spring of 1851, a Woman's Rights Convention was 
held in Akron, Ohio. The newspapers had ridiculed such 
conventions, and they were looked upon as legitimate subjects 
for ridicule. They had been vilified and caricatured, but there 
was a desire through that section of the country to hear what 
the women would have to say for themselves, and the church 
in which the meeting was held was consequently crowded. 
Sojourner Truth was there. Mrs. Gage was president of the 
meeting. She said : — 

"The leaders of the movement, tremblingly alive to every appear- 
ance of evil that might spring up in their midst, were many of them 
almost thrown into panics on the first day of the meeting, by seeing a 
tall, gaunt black woman, in a gray dress and uncouth sun-bonnet, march 
deliberately into the church and up the aisle with an air of a queen, 
and take her seat on the pulpit steps. ' A buzz of disapprobation was 
heard all over the house, and such words as these fell upon listening 
ears : ' An Abolition affair ! Woman's Rights and Niggers ! ' ' We told 
you so ! ' 'Go it, old darkey ! ' 

" The second day the work waxed warm. Methodist, Baptist, Epis- 
copal, and Presbyterian, and Universalist ministers came in to hear and 
discuss the resolutions brought forth. One claimed superior rights and 
privileges for man because of superior intellect ; another, because of the 
manhood of Christ. If God had desired the equality of woman, he 
would have given some token of his will through the birth, life, and 
death of the Saviour. Another gave a theological view of the sin of 
our first mother. There were few women in those days who dared ' to 
speak in meeting ' ; and the august teachers of the people, with long- 
winded bombast, were seeming to get the better of us, while the boys 
in the galleries and sneerers among the pews were enjoying hugely 
the discomfiture, as they supposed, of the strong-minded. Some of the 
tender-skiimed friends were growing indignant and on the point of 
losing d'guity, and the atmosphere of the Convention betokened a 
storm.' 

16 



242 FOUR YEARS OF FiGfHTiNG. [March, 

" Slowly from lier seat in the corner rose Sojourner Truth, who till 
now had hardly lifted her head. 

" ' Don't let her speak ! ' gasped a half-dozen in my ear. She moved 
slowly and solemnly to the front, laid her old bonnet at her feet, and 
turned her great piercing eyes upon me. There was a hissing sound of 
disapprobation above and below. I rose and announced ' Sojourner 
Truth,' and begged the audience to keep silence a few moments. Tlie 
tumult subsided at once, and every eye was fixed on this almost Amazon 
form, which stood nearly six feet high, head erect, and eye piercing the 
upper air like one in a dream. At her first word there was a profound 
hush. She spoke in deep tones, which, though not loud, reached every 
ear in the house, and away through the throng at the doors and win- 
dows. 

" ' Well, chillen, whar dar 's so much racket dar must be som'ing out 
o' kilter. I tink dat 'twixt de niggas of de Souf and de women of de 
Norf, all a talking about de rights, de white men will be in a fix pretty 
soon. 

" ' But what 's all dis here talking 'bout? Dat man ober dar say dat 
woman needs to be helped into carriages, and lifted ober ditches, and to 
hab de best place eberywhar.* Nobody fiber helps me into carriages, or 
ober ditches or ober mud-puddles, or gives me any best place.' Rais- 
ing herself to her full height, and her voice to a pitch like rolling thun- 
der, she asked, ' And arn't I a woman ? Look at me. Look at my 
arm,' and she laid bare her right arm to her shoulder, showing its tre- 
mendous muscular power. ' I have ploughed, and planted, and gathered 
into barns, and no man could head me ; and arn't I a woman ? I have 
borne thirteen chillen, and seen most of 'em sold off into slavery, and 
when I cried out with a mother's grief, none but Jesus heard ; and arn't 
I a woman? Den dey talks about dis ting in de head. What dis dey 
call it ? ' ' Intellect,' whispered some one near her. ' Dat 's it, honey. 
What 's dat got to do wid woman's rights or niggei*s' rights ? If my cup 
won't hold but a pint, and yours holds a quart, would n't you be mean 
not to let me have my little half measure full?' 

" She pointed her significant finger and sent a keen glance at the 
minister who had made the argument. The cheering was long and 
loud. 

" ' Den dat little man in black, dar, he say woman can't have as much 
right as man, 'cause Christ was n't a woman. Whar did your Christ 
come from f ' 

" R6lling thunder could not have stilled that crowd as did those deep 
and wonderful tones, as she stood there with outstretched arm and eye 
of fire. Raising her voice she repeated, ' Whar did your Christ come 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 243 

from ? From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with 
him.' 

" what a rebuke she gave the little man ! Turning again to 
another objector, she took up the defence of Mother Eve. It was 
pointed, and witty, and solemn, and eliciting at almost every sentence 
deafening applause ; and she ended by asserting that ' if de fust woman 
God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down, all 
herself alone, all dese togeder,' and she glanced her eye over us, ' ought 
to be able to turn it back again and git it right side up again ; and now 
dey is asking to, the men better let 'em. Bleeged to you for hearin' 
me, and now old Sojourner ha'n't got notin' more to say.' 

'* Amid roars of applause she turned to her corner, leaving more than 
one of us with streaming eyes and hearts beating with gratitude. She 
had taken us up in her great strong arms and carried us over the slougli 
of difficulty, turning the whole tide in our favor. I have never in my 
life seen anything like the magical influence that subdued the mobbish 
spirit of the day and turned the jibes and sneers of an excited crowd 
into notes of respect and admiration. Hundreds rushed up to shake 
hands with the glorious old mother and bid her God speed." 

The enlistment of negro troops began at Port Royal in the 
fall of 1862, and by midwinter the First Soiith Carolina, com- 
manded by Colonel Higginson, had its ranks nearly full. There 
was strong prejudice in the army against employing negroes. 
The New Jersey troops in the department of the South were 
bitterly hostile. Colonel Stevenson, of Massachusetts, a gal- 
lant officer, having imprudently given utterance to his feel- 
ings upon the subject, was arrested by General Hunter, 
which caused a great deal of excitement in the army, and 
which attracted the attention of the country to the whole 
subject. 

The day after the arrest of Colonel Stevenson, a scene oc- 
curred in the cabin of the steamer Wyoming, plying between 
Beaufort and Hilton Head, which is given as a historical note. 
The party consisted of several ladies, one or two chaplains, 
fifteen or twenty officers, four newspaper correspondents, and 
several civilians. 

A young captain in the Tenth New Jersey opened the con- 
versation. 

" I wish," said he, " that every negro was compelled to take 
oflf his hat to a white man. I consider him an inferior being." 



244: FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

" You differ from General "Washington, who took off his hat 
and saluted a negro," said one of the correspondents. 

" General Washington could afford to do it," said the cap- 
tain, a little staggered. 

" Are we to understand that in this age a captain cannot 
afford to equal a negro in politeness ? " was the provoking- 
question of the correspondent. 

" Do you want to be buried with a nigger, and have- your 
bones touch his in the grave ? " 

" As to that I have no feeling whatever. I do not suppose 
that it will make much difference to the bones of either party." 

" Well, when I die I want twenty niggers -packed all around 
me," shouted the captain, excitedly, turning to the crowd to 
see tlie effect of his sarcasm. 

" I presume, sir, you can be accommodated if you can get 
the consent of the twenty negroes." 

The captain saw that he was losing his argument by losing 
his temper, and in calmer tones said : " I want to see the 
negro kept in his proper place. I am perfectly willing he 
should use the s'hovel, but it is an outrage upon the white 
man, — an insult to have him carry a musket." 

" I would just as soon see a negro shot as to get shot myself. 
I am perfectly willing that all the negroes should help put 
down the Rebellion," said the correspondent. 

" I am not willing to have them act as soldiers. Put them 
in the ditches, where they belong. They are an inferior race." 

A second correspondent broke in. " Who are you, sir ? " 
said he ; " you who condemn the government ? You forget 
that you as a soldier have nothing to say about the orders of 
the President or the laws of Congress. You say that the negro 
is an inferior being ; what do you say of Frederick Douglass, 
who has raised himself from slavery to a high position ? Your 
straps were placed on your shoulders, not because you had done 
anything to merit them, but because you had friends to inter- 
cede for you, — using their political influence, — or because 
you had money, and could purchase your commission. You 
hate the negro, and you want to keep him in slavery, and you 
allow your prejudice to carry you to the verge of disloyalty to 
the government which pays you for unworthily wearing your 
shoulder-straps." 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 245 

The captain and the entire company listened in silence while 
another correspondent took up the question. 

" Gentleman, you denounce the negro ; you say that he is 
an inferior being. You forget that we white men claim to 
stand on the highest plane of civilization, — that we are of a 
race which for a thousand years has been in the front rank, — 
that the negro has been bruised, crushed, trodden down, — de- 
nied all knowledge, all right, everything ; that we have com- 
pelled him to labor for us, and we have eaten tlie fruit of his 
labors. Can we expect him to be our equal in acquisition of 
knowledge ? Where is your sense of fair play ? Are you 
afraid that the negro will push you from your position ? Are 
you afraid that if you allow him to aid in putting down the 
Rebellion, that he too will become a free man, and have aspi- 
rations like your own, and in time express toward you the same 
chivah'ic sentiments which you express toward him ? How 
much do you love your country if you thus make conditions 
of loyalty ? " 

The captain made no reply. The whole company was silent. 
There were smiles from the ladies. The captain went out upon 
the deck, evidently regretting that the conversation had fallen 
upon so exciting a topic. 

The First South Carolina Regiment of loyal blacks was in 
camp on Smith's plantation, four miles out from Beaufort. We 
rode over a sandy plain, through old cotton-fields, pine-barrens, 
and jungles, past a dozen negro-huts, where the long tresses 
of moss waved mournfully in the breeze. The men had gath- 
ered a boat-load of oysters, and were having a feast, — old and 
young, gray-headed men, and curly-haired children, were hud- 
dled round the pans, steaming and smoking over the pitch-knot 
fires. 

Smith's plantation is historic ground, — the place where the 
Huguenots built a fort long before the Mayflower cast anchor 
in Cape Cod harbor. The plantation was well known to the 
colored people before the war as a place to be dreaded, — a 
place for hard work, unmerciful whippings, with very little to 
eat. The house and the negro quarters were in a delightful 
grove of live-oaks, whose evergreen leaves, wide-spreading 
branches, thick foliage, and gnarled trunks, gave cooling 



246 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

shade. In frout of the house, leading down to the fort, is 
a magnoha walk. Behind the house, in a circular basin, — 
a depression often found on sandy plains, — was the garden, sur- 
rounded by a thick-set, fantastic palmetto hedge. The great 
oak between the house and the garden, was the whipping-post. 
One of the branches was smooth, as if a swing had been slung 
there, and the bark had been worn by the rope swaying to the 
merry chattering and light-hearted laughter of children. Not 
that, however. There the offender of plantation law, — of a mas- 
ter's caprice, — had paid the penalty of disobedience ; there men, 
women, and children, suspended by the thumbs, stripped of 
their clothing, received the lash. Their moans, groans, cries, 
and prayers fell unheeding on overseer, master, and mistiness, — 
but heard and heeded they were in heaven, and kept in re- 
membrance. And the hour of retribution had come, the time 
of deliverance was near. 

What a choice spot for the punishment of the criminal ! 
close to the house, — wliere the master, the mistress, their sons 
and daughters, the infant at the nurse's breast, could see the 
blood fly. 

The plantation jail was in the loft of the granary, beneath a 
pitch-pine roof, which, under the heat of a midsummer sun, 
was like an oven. There was one little whidow in the gable 
for the admission of air. There were iron rings and bolts in 
the beams and rafters, where the slaves were chained. 

The owner of the plantation was not unmindful of the relig- 
ious wants of his fellow-Christians. West of the house was the 
plantation chapel, a whitewashed building of rough boards, 
twenty feet by thirty, with a rude belfry, where hung the 
plantation bell, whicli on week-days was rung at daybreak. 
Charmingly its music floated over the blue waters of Beaufort 
Bay, mingling with the morning winds, swaying the magnolia 
branches, calling the hands — men, women, and children — to 
their unrequited tasks in the cotton-field. On Sunday it called 
them, with silvery lips and melting sounds, to come and wor- 
ship : not to study God's Word, not to bow down with him 
who — by the " divine missionary institution," as the Southern 
doctors of divinity called it, was their master, ordained of 
God — could separate husband and wife, or toss, in a baby 



1863.] THE ATLANTIC COAST. 247 

to boot, ill a bargain ; not to bow down with him, for he wor- 
shipped in Beaufort, in the ancient church ; — he was a chival- 
ric son of South Carolina, riding up in his coach, and leaving 
his four hundred fellow-disciples to grope their way to heaven, 
directed by a pious bondman, as best they might. 

If one wish for a flood of reflections, he will be overwhelmed 
on such a spot. 

The First South Carolina was at drill beneath the oak ; 
drilling as skirmishers, advancing, retiring, rallying, deploy- 
ing, loading and firing, with precision. They had already been 
under fire in an expedition up one of the Georgia rivers. 

I had breakfasted with the captain of the steamer Darlington, 
which was used as a transport on the occasion, who showed me 
the numerous bullet-marks on the steamer. 

" How did the negroes stand fire ? " I asked. " They fought 
splendidly, sir." 

It was no longer an experiment whether they would make 
good soldiers. They had demonstrated it by their courage and 
patriotism. Tlie antipathy which at the beginning was ram- 
pant quickly toned down. The deportment of the colored 
soldiers under insult, their bravery in battle, compelled respect 
from all who had doubted their heroism or fidelity. 

Tn the attack upon Jacksonville, which occurred on the 
12th of March, an old patriarch — too old to do any fight- 
ing — harangued the troops, and told them that every one who 
should be killed in a cause so holy would be pretty sure of step- 
ping directly into heaven ; but that if they hung back and 
showed that they were cowards, there was n't much hope of 
eternal life for such ! He was greatly venerated by the soldiers, 
for he had been a preacher. 



248 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^pril, 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE lEONCLADS IN ACTION. 

After vexatious delays, the ironclad fleet was ready for 
action. It was deemed desirable to test their armor, before 
attacking Sumter, by making a reconnoissance of Fort McAllis- 
ter, on the Ogeechee. 

It was late on the afternoon of March 1st, when the steamer 
George Washington left Hilton Head for a trip to Ossabow 
Sound. The Passaic, Montauk, Nahant, and Patapsco, ironclads 
of the Monitor pattern, were already there. The Washington took 
the " inside " route up Wilmington River and through the Rum- 
ley marshes. The gunboat Marblehead was guarding the en- 
trance to the river. It was past sunset, and the tide was ebbing. 

" You had better lie here till morning ; there are indications 
that wo shall hear from those fellows up there," said the com- 
mander of the Marblehead. Looking westward into the golden 
light of the departing day, we could see the spires of Savannah, 
also nearer the Rebel gunboats moving up and down the river. 

The anchor dropped, the chain rattled through tlie hawse- 
hole, the lights were extinguished, the guns put in trim ; the 
look-out took his position ; the sentinels passed to and fro, peer- 
ing into the darkness ; a buoy was attached to the cable, that it 
might be slipped in an instant; all ears listened to catch the 
sound of muffled oars or plashing paddle-wheels, but there was 
no sound save the piping of the curlew in the marshes and the 
surging of the tide along the reedy shores. At three o'clock in 
the morning we were away from our anchorage, steaming up 
Wilmington River. The moonlight lay in a golden flood along 
the waters, revealing the distant outline of the Rebel earth- 
works. How charming the trip ! exhilarating, and sufficiently 
exciting, under the expectation of falling in with a hostile gun- 
boat, to bring every nerve into action. It was sunrise when the 
Washington emerged from the marshes and came to anchor 



1863.] THE IRONCLADS IN ACTION. 249 

among the ironclads. The Montauk had just completed a 
glorious work, — the destruction of the Nashville. We had 
heard the roar of her guns, and the quick, ineffectual firing 
from Fort McAllister. 

The Nashville, which began her piratical depredations by 
burning the ship Harvey Birch, ran into Savannah, where she 
had been cooped up several months. She had been waiting 
many weeks for an opportunity to run out to sea again. On 
Saturday morning, the last day of February, a dense fog hung 
over the marshes, the islands, and inlets of Ossabow. The 
Montauk lay at the junction of the Great and Little Ogeediee 
Rivers, when the fog lifted and the Nashville was discovered 
aground above the fort. 

The eyes of Captain Worden sparkled as he gave the com- 
mand to prepare for action. He had not forgotten his 
encounter with the Merrimack. The Montauk moved up 
stream, came within range of the fort, which opened from all 
its guns, but to which Captain Worden gave no heed. Tak- 
ing a position about three quarters of a mile from the Nashville 
and half a mile from the fort, he opened with both guns upon 
the grounded steamer, to which the Nashville replied with her 
hundred-pounder. The tliird shell from the Montauk exploded 
inside the steamer, setting her cotton on fire. The flames spread 
with great rapidity. Her crew fled to the marshes, the maga- 
zine soon exploded, and the career of the Nashville was ended. 

At high tide on the morning of the 3d of March the Passaic, 
Patapsco, and Nahant moved up the Ogeechee, and opened fire 
on the fort, to test the working of their machinery. The fire 
was furious from the fort, but slow and deliberate from the 
ironclads. Several mortar-schooners threw shells in the direc- 
tion of the fort. The monitors were obliged to retire with the 
tide. They were struck repeatedly, but the balls fell harm- 
lessly against the iron plating. It was evident that at the 
distance of three fourths of a mile, or a half-mile even, the 
ironclads could withstand the heaviest guns, while on the other 
hand the fire of the monitors must necessarily be very slow. 
The attack was made, not with the expectation of reducing the 
fort, but to test the monitors before the grand attack upon Fort 
Sumter. 



250 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

The first attack on Sumter occurred on the 7th of April. 
The fort stood out in bold relief, the bright noon-sun shining 
full upon its southern face, fronting the shallow water towards 
Morris Island, leaving in shadow its eastern wall toward Moul- 
trie. The air was clear, and we who were on shipboard just 
beyond the reach of the Rebel guns, looking inland with our 
glasses, could see the city, the spires, the roofs of the houses 
thronged with people. A three-masted ship lay at the, wharves, 
the Rebel rams were fired up, sail-boats were scudding across 
the harbor, running down toward Sumter, looking seaward, 
then hastening back again like little children, expectant and 
restless on great occasions, eager for something to be done. 

The attacking fleet was in the main ship-channel, — eight 
little black specks but little larger than the buoys which tossed 
beside them, and one black, oblong block, the New Ironsides, 
the flag-ship of the fleet. It was difficult to comprehend that 
beneath the surface of the sea there were men as secure from 
the waves as bugs in a bottle. It was as strange and romantic 
as the stories which charmed the Arabian chieftains in the days 
of Haroun Al Raschid. 

The ironclads were about one third of a mile apart, in the 
following order : — 

Weehawken, Patapsco, Nantucket, 

Passaic, Ironsides, Nahant, 

Montauk, Catskill, Keokuk. 

The Keokuk was built by a gentleman who had full faith in 
her invulnerability. She was to be tested under fire from the 
Rebel batteries before accepted by .the government. She had 
sloping sides, two turrets, and was built for a ram. The opin- 
ions generally entertained were that she would prove a failure. 

General Hunter courteously assigned the steamer Nantucket 
to the gentlemen connected with the press, giving them com- 
plete control of the steamer, to go where they pleased, knowing 
that there was an intense desire not only in the North, but 
throughout the world, to know the result of the first contest 
between ironclads and fortifications. The Nantucket was a 
small side-wheel steamer of light draft, and we were able to 
run in and out over the bar at will. Just before the signal 
was given for the advance we ran alongside the flag-ship. The 



1863.] THE IRONCLADS IN ACTION. 251 

crew were hard at work hoisting shot and shells from the hold 
to the deck. The upper deck was bedded with sand-bags, the 
pilot-house wrapped with cable. All the light hamper was 
taken down and stowed away. The iron plating was slushed 
with grease. Rebel soldiers were marching across Morris 
Island, within easy range. A shell would have sent them 
in haste behind the sand-hills ; but heavier work was at hand, 
and they were harmless just then. 

It was past one o'clock when the signal for sailing was dis- 
played from the flag-ship, and the Weehawken, with a raft at 
her prow, intended to remove torpedoes, answered the signal, 
raised her anchor, and went steadily in with the tide, followed 
by the others, which maintained their respective positions, dis- 
tant from each other about one third or a half-mile. In this 
battle of ironclads there are no clouds of canvas, no beautiful 
models of marine architecture, none of the stateliness and 
majesty which have marked hundreds of great naval engage- 
ments. There are no human beings in sight, — no propelling 
power is visible. There are simply eight black specks and 
one oblong block gliding along the water, like so many 
bugs. 

But Sumter has discovered them, and discharges in quick suc- 
cession nine signal guns, to announce to all Rebeldom that the 
attack is to be made. Morris Island is mysteriously silent as 
the Weehawken advances, although she is within range. Past 
Fort Wagner, straight on toward Moultrie the Weehawken 
moves. The silence is prolonged. It is almost painful, — the 
calm before the storm, the hushed stillness before the burst 
of the tornado ! 

There comes a single puff of smoke from Moultrie, — one 
deep reverberation. The silence is broken, — the long months 
of waiting are over. The shot flies across the water, skip- 
ping from wave to wave, tossing up fountains, hopping over 
the deck of the Weehawken, and rolling along the surface 
with a diminishing ricochet, sinking at last close upon the 
Morris Island beach. Fort Wagner continues the story, send- 
ing a shot at the Weehawken, which also trips, lightly over the 
deck, and tosses up a water-spout far toward Moultrie. The 
Weehawken, unmindful of this play, opens its ports, and sends 



252 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

a fifteen-inch solid shot toward Sumter, which, like those that 
have been hurled toward her, takes a half-dozen steps, making 
for a moment its footprints on the water, and crashes against 
the southwest face of the fort, followed a moment later by its 
eleven-inch companion. The vessel is for a moment enveloped 
in the smoke of its guns. Bravely done ! There comes an an- 
swer. Moultrie, with the tremendous batteries on either side by 
the hotel and east of it, and toward the inner harbor, bursts in 
an instant into sheets of flame and clouds of sulphurous smoke. 
There is one long roll of thunder, peal on peal ; deep, heavy 
reverberations and sharp concussions, rattling the windows of 
our steamers, and striking us at the heart like hammer strokes. 

The ocean boils ! Columns of spray are tossed high in air, 
as if a hundred submarine fountains were let instantly on, or 
a school of whales were trying which could spout highest. 
There is a screaming in the air, a buzzing and humming never 
before so loud. 

At five minutes before three Moultrie began the fire. Ten 
minutes have passed. The thunder has rolled incessantly from 
Sullivan's Island. Thus far Sumter has been silent, but now 
it is enveloped with a cloud. A moment it is hid from view, 
' — first a line of light along its parapet, and thick folds of 
smoke unrolling like fleeces of wool. Other flashes burst 
from the casemates, and the clouds creep down the wall to the 
water, then slowly float away to mingle with that rising from 
the furnaces in the sand along the shore of Sullivan's Island. 
Then comes a calm, — a momentary cessation. The Rebel gun- 
ners wait for the breeze to clear away the cloud, that they may 
obtain a view of the monitor, to see if it have not been punched 
into a sieve, and if it be not already disappearing beneath the 
waves. But the Weehawken is tliere, moving straight on up 
the channel, turning now toward Moultrie. To her it has been 
only a handful of peas or pebbles. Some have rattled against 
her turret, some upon her deck, some against her sides. In- 
stead of going to the bottom, she revolves her turret, and fires 
two shots at Moultrie, moving on the while to gain the south- 
eastern wall of Sumter. 

Again the forts and batteries begin, joined now by Cum- 
mings Point and long ranges from Fort Johnson. All around 



1863.] THE IRONCLADS IN ACTION. 253 

the Weehawken the shot flash, plunge, hop, skip, falling like 
the rain-drops of a summer shower. Unharmed, undaunted, 
she moves straight on, feeling her way, moving slowly, with 
grappling-irons dragging from the raft in front to catch up 
torpedoes. It is for the Weehawken to clear the channel, and 
make smooth sailing for the remainder of the fleet. 

To get the position of the Weehawken at tliis moment, draw 
a line from Cummings Point to Moultrie, and stick a pin on 
the line a little nearer to Moultrie than to Morris Island. It is 
about one half a mile from Moultrie, about one third of a mile 
from Sumter. 

Tliere she is, — the target of probably two hundred and fifty 
or three hundred guns, of the heaviest calibre, at close range, 
rifled cannon throwing forged bolts and steel-pointed shot, 
turned and polished to a hair in the lathes of English work- 
shops, — advancing still, undergoing her first ordeal, a trial 
unparalleled in history ! 

For fifteen minutes she meets the ordeal alone, but the chan- 
nel found to be clear, the Passaic, the Montauk, and Patapsco 
follow, closing up the line, each coming in range and deliver- 
ing their fire upon Sumter. At twenty minutes past three the 
four monitors composing the right wing of the fleet are all en- 
gaged, each pressing on to reach the northeastern face of the 
fort, where the wall is weakest, each receiving as they arrive 
at particular points a terrible fire, seemingly from all poinfe 
of the compass, — points selected by trial and practice indi- 
cated by buoys. They pass the destructive latitudes un- 
harmed. Seventy guns a minute are counted, followed by 
moments of calm and scattering shots, but only to break out 
again in a prolonged roar of thunder. They press on, making 
nearer and nearer to Sumter, narrowing the distance to one 
thousand yards, eight hundred, six, five, four hundred yards, 
and send their fifteen-inch shot crashing against the fort, with 
deliberate, effective fire. 

At first the fort and the batteries and Moultrie seem to re- 
double their efforts in increasing the fire, but after an hour 
there is a perceptible diminution of the discharges from the 
fort. After each shot from the ironclads, clouds of dust can 
be discerned rising above the fort and mingling witli the smoke. 



254 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

Steadying my glass in the lulls of the strife, watching where 
the southwest breeze whiffs away the smoke, I can see increas- 
ing pock-marks and discolorations upon the walls, as if there 
had been a sudden breaking out of cutaneous disease. 

The flag-ship, drawing seventeen feet of water, was obliged 
to move cautiously, feeling her way up the channel. Just as 
she came within range of Moultrie her keel touched bottom 
on the east side of the channel ; fearing that she would run 
aground the anchor was let go. Finding the vessel was clear, 
the Admiral again moved on, signalling the left wing to press 
forward to the aid of the four already engaged. The Ironsides 
kept the main channel, which brought her within about one 
thousand yards of Moultrie and Sumter. She fired four guns 
at Moultrie, and received in return a heavy fire. Again she 
touched bottom, and then turned her bow across the channel 
toward Sumter, firing two guns atCummings Point. After 
this weak and ineffectual effort, the tide rapidly ebl)ing the 
while, she again got clear, but gave up the attempt to advance. 
The Catskill, Nantucket, Nahant, and Keokuk pressed up with 
all possible speed to aid the four which were receiving a tre- 
mendous hammering. 

See them sweep past the convergent points and radial lines ! 
See the bubbling of the water, — the straight columns thrown 
up in the sunlight, — the flashes, the furrows along the waves, 
as if a plough driven with lightning speed were turning up the 
water ! They are all close up to Sumter, within four or five 
hundred yards. Behind them are Moultrie and Fort Ripley, 
and Fort Beauregard, flashing, smoking, bellowing ; in front is 
Sumter, and in the background are Fort Wagner and Cum- 
mings Point. Across the shallow waters is Fort Johnson ; 
still farther off to the right is Castle Pinckney, too far away 
to do damage. From all sides the balls fall ai'ound the fleet. 
Calmly and deliberately the fire is returned, — with a delibera- 
tion which must have commanded the admiration of the enemy. 

The Keokuk presented a fair mark with her sloping sides and 
double turrets. Her commander, Captain Rhind, although not 
having entire confidence in her invulnerability, was determined 
to come to close quarters. She was not to be outdone by the iron- 
clads who had led the advance. Swifter than they, drawing less 



1863,] THE IRONCLADS IN ACTION. 255 

water, slie made haste to get up with the Weehawken. The 
guns which had been trained upon the others were brought to 
bear upon her. Where she sailed the fire was fiercest. Her 
plating was but pine wood to the steel projectiles, flying with 
almost the swiftness of a minie bullet. Shot which glanced 
harmlessly from the others penetrated her angled sides. Her 
after turret was pierced in a twinkling, and a two-hundred- 
pound projectile dropped inside. A heavy shot crashed into 
the surgeon's dispensary, and mixed emetics, cathartics, pills 
and powders not according to prescriptions. The enemy 
noticed the effect of his shot and increased his fire. Captain 
Ehind was not easily daunted. He opened his forward turret 
and gave three shots in return for the three or four hundred 
rained around him. The sea with jpvery passing wave swept 
through the shot-holes, and he was forced to retire or go to the 
bottom with all on board. 

The tide was ebbing fast, and the signal for retiring was dis- 
played by the flag-ship. It was raised, seemingly, at an inop- 
portune moment, for the fire of the fort had sensibly diminished, 
while that from the ironclads was steady and true. It was 
past five o'clock, almost sunset, when the fleet came back. 
Never had there been such a hammering of iron and smashing 
of masonry as during two and a half hours of that afternoon. 
The gunboat Bibb, the Ben Deford, and the Nantasket had 
taken position in the North Channel at a respectful distance off" 
Sullivan's Island. A mile or two east of Moultrie is Beach 
Inlet, where a powerful battery had been erected. "While in- 
tently gazing on the contest, the correspondents and all hands 
on the other steamers were startled by hearing the whiff and 
whiz of a rifle projectile, which came diagonally across the 
Nantasket, across the bow of the Ben Deford, falling into the 
sea about one hundred yards ahead. There was a laugh- 
able cuddling down and scampering for the coal-bunkers, the 
engine-room, and between decks. There was an immediate 
hauling in of cables and motion of paddle-wheels. A second 
shot in admirable line fell short. We being at anchor and 
within range, the Rebel gunner had made nice calculations. 
He had already fired a half-dozen shots, which had fallen far 
ahead unnoticed. Cummings Point also tried to reach us with 



256 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^P^l, 

shells, but failed. One of the correspondents claimed that the 
press completely silenced a battery — by getting out of the way ! 

Steaming into the retiring fleet we ran alongside the Keokuk. 
A glance at her sides showed how terrible the fire had been. 
Her smoke-stack, turrets, sides, — all were scarred, gashed, 
pierced through and through. An inspection revealed ninety- 
four short-marks. There were none below the water-line, but 
each wave swept through the holes on the sides. Her pumps 
were going and she was kept free. Only three of her officers 
and crew were wounded, although she had been so badly per- 
forated. 

" All right, nobody hurt, ready for them again," was the 
hearty response of Captain George Rodgers, of the Catskill, as 
I stepped upon the slushe^ deck of that vessel and grasped the 
hand of her wide-awake commander. The Catskill had received 
about thirty shots. One two-hundred-pounder, thrown evidently 
from a barbette gun, had fallen with tremendous force upon the 
deck, bending, but not breaking or penetrating the iron. On 
the sides, on the turret, and on the pilot-house were indenta- 
tions like saucers, but there was no sign of serious damage. 

The Nahant came down to her anchorage with a gashed 
smoke-stack. Going on board, we found that eleven of her 
officers and crew had received contusions from the flying of 
bolt-heads in the turret. One shot had jammed the lower ridge 
of her turret, interfering with its revolution. She had been 
struck forty times, but — aside from the loss of a few bolt-heads, 
a diminished draft to her chimney, and the slight jam upon 
the turret — her armor was intact. 

The other monitors had each a few bolts started. Four gun- 
carriages needed repairs, — injured not by the enemy's shot, 
but by their own recoil. One shot had ripped up the plating 
of the Patapsco and pierced the wood-work beneath. This was 
the only shot, out of the twenty-five hundred or three thousand 
supposed to have been fired from the forts which penetrated 
the monitors ! 

The Weehawken had received three heavy shot upon her 
side, the indentations close together. The plates were badly 
bent, but the shot had fallen as harmlessly as pebbles upon the 
side of a barn. 



1863.] THE IRONCLADS IN ACTION. 257 

The Ironsides had received thirty balls, all of which had been 
turned by her armor. 

One hundred and fifty-three shots were fired by the fleet, 
against twenty-five hundred or three thousand by the Rebels. 
The monitors were struck in the aggregate about three hun- 
dred and fifty times. 

About six thousand pounds of iron were hurled at Fort 
Sumter during the short time the fleet was engaged, and prob- 
ably five or six times that amount of metal, or thirty thousand 
pounds, was thrown at the fleet. The casualties on board the 
fleet were, — none killed ; one mortally, one seriously, and thir- 
teen slightly wounded. 

Captain Ammen, commanding the Patapsco, was confident 
that the last shots which he fired passed through the wall of the 
fort. He and other commanders obeyed the signal for retiring 
with great reluctance. They saw that the fire of the fort was 
growing weaker, — that the wall was crumbling. It is now 
known that the Rel3l commander. General Ripley, was on the 
point of evacuating the fort when the signal was made for the 
fleet to withdraw. The wall was badly shattered, and a few 
more shots would have made it a complete ruin. 

The lower casemates were soon after filled with sand-bags, 
the guns having been removed. The walls were buttressed with 
palmetto logs, and the fort lost nearly all of its original features, 
but was made stronger than ever. 

The Keokuk sunk in the morning on the bar. The sea was 
rough, and the water poured through the shot-holes with every 
wave, so that it was found impossible to keep her afloat. 

Admiral Dupont decided not to renew the attack, which 
caused a good deal of murmuring among the soldiers in the 
fleet. The ironclads returned to Hilton Head for repairs, the 
expedition was abandoned, and Sumter was left to float its flag 
in defiance of Federal authority. 



17 



258 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

The second invasion of the North was planned immediately 
after the battle of Chancellorsville. The movement of General 
Lee was upon a great circle, — down the valley of the Shenan- 
doah, crossing the Potomac at Williamsport with his infantry 
and artillery, while General Stuart, with the main body of 
Rebel cavalry, kept east of the Blue Ridge to conceal the ad- 
vance of the infantry. 

General Hooker, at Fredericksburg, the first week in June, 
received positive information that Lee was breaking up his 
camp, and that some of his divisions were moving towards 
Culpepper. The dust-clouds which rose above the tree-tops 
indicated that the Rebel army was in motion. The Army of 
the Potomac immediately broke up its camp and moved to 
Catlett's Station, on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, where 
intelligence was received that Stuart had massed the Rebel 
cavalry at Brandy Station for a raid in Pennsylvania. 

General Pleasanton, commanding the cavalry, was sent with 
his entire force to look into the matter. He fell upon Stuart 
on the 9th of June, on the broad, open plains along the Rap- 
pahannock. A desperate battle ensued, — probably it was the 
greatest cavalry battle of the war, — in which Stuart was driven 
back upon the Rebel infantry, which was hurried up from Cul- 
pepper to his support. The object of the attack was accom- 
plished, — Stuart's raid was postponed and Lee's movement 
unmasked. On the same day, Lee's advanced divisions reached 
Winchester, attacked General Milroy, captured the town, the 
cannon in the fortifications, and moved on to the Potomac. 

Hastening to Pennsylvania, I became an observer of the great 
events which followed. The people of the Keystone State in 

1862 rushed to arms when Lee crossed the Potomac, but in 

1863 they were strangely apathetic, — intent upon conveying 
their property to a place of security, instead of defending their 



1863.] THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 259 

homes. In '62 the cry was, " Drive the enemy from our soil ! " 
in '63, " Where shall we hide our goods ? " 

Harrisburg was a Bedlam when I entered it on the 15th of 
June. 

The railroad stations were crowded with an excited people, — 
men, women, and children, — with trunks, boxes, bundles ; 
packages tied up in bed-blankets and quilts.; mountains of bag- 
gage, — tumbling it into the cars, rushing here and there in 
a frantic manner ; shouting, screaming, as if the Rebels were 
about to dash into the town and lay it in ashes. The railroad 
authorities were removing their cars and engines. The mer- 
chants were packing up their goods ; housewives were secreting 
their silver ; everywhere there was a hurly-burly. The excite- 
ment was increased when a train of army wagons came rum- 
bling over the long bridge across the Susquehannah, accom- 
panied by a squadron of cavalry. It was Milroy's train, which 
had been ordered to make its way into Pennsylvania. 

" The Rebels will be here to-morrow or next day," said the 
teamsters. 

At the State-House, men in their shirt-sleeves were packing 
papers into boxes. Every team, every horse and mule and 
handcart in the town were employed. There was a steady stream 
of teams thundering across the bridge ; farmers from the Cum- 
berland valley, with their household furniture piled upon the 
great wagons peculiar to the locality ; bedding, tables, cliairs, 
their wives and children perched on the top ; kettles and pails 
dangling beneath ; boys driving cattle and horses, excited, wor- 
ried, fearing they knew not what. The scene was painful, 
yet ludicrous. 

General Couch was in command at Harrisburg. He had 
but a few troops. He erected fortifications across the river, 
planted what few cannon he had, and made preparations to 
defend the place. 

General Lee was greatly in need of horses, and his cavalry- 
men, under General Jenkins, ravaged the Cumberland Valley. 
A portion visited Chambersburg ; another party, Mercersburg ; 
another, Gettysburg, before any infantry entered the State. 

Ewell's corps of Lee's army crossed the Potomac, a division 
at Williamsport, and another at Shcpherdstown, on the 22d of 



260 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

June, and came together at Hagerstown. The main body of 
Lee's army was at Winchester. Stuart had moved along the 
eastern base of the Blue Ridge, and had come in contact with 
a, portion of Pleasanton's cavalry at Aldie and Middleburg. 
Hooker had swung the army up to Fairfax and Centrevflle, 
moving on an inner circle, with Washington for a pivot. 

Visiting Baltimore, where General Schenck was in command, 
I found the Marylanders much more alive to the exigencies of 
the hour than the Pennsylvanians. Instead of hurrying north- 
ward with their household furniture, they were hard at work 
building fortifications and barricading the streets. Hogsheads 
of tobacco, barrels of pork, old carts, wagons, and lumber were 
piled across the streets, and patriotic citizens stood, musket in 
hand, prepared to pick off any Rebel troops. 

Colored men were impressed to construct fortifications. They 
were shy at first, fearing it was a trap to get them into slavery, 
but when they found they were to defend the city, they gave 
enthusiastic demonstrations of joy. They went to their work 
singing their Marseillaise, 

" John Brown's body," &c. 

While writing in the Eutaw House, I heard the song sung 
by a thousand voices, accompanied by the steady tramp, tramp, 
tramp of the men marching down the street, cheering General 
Schenck as they passed his quarters. 

How rapid the revolution ! Twenty-six months before, Mas- 
sachusetts troops had fought their way through the city, now 
the colored men were singing of John Brown amid the cheers 
of the people ! 

General Hooker waited in front of Washington till he was 
certain of Lee's intentions, and then by a rapid march pushed 
on to Frederick. • Lee's entire army was across the Potomac. 
■ Ewell was at York, enriching himself by reprisals, stealings, 
and confiscations. General Hooker asked that the troops at 
Harper's Ferry might be placed under his command, that he 
might wield the entire available force and crush Lee ; this was 
refused, whereupon he informed the War Department that, un- 
less this condition were complied with, he wished to be relieved 
of the command of the army. The matter was laid before 



1863.] THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 261 

the President and his request was granted. General Meade 
"was placed in command ; and what was denied to General Hook- 
er was substantially granted to General Meade, — that he was 
to use his best judgment in holding or evacuating Harper's 
Ferry ! General Halleck was military adviser to the President, 
and the question between him and Hooker was whether Hal- 
leck, sitting in his chair at Washington, or Hooker at the head 
of the army, should fight General Lee. The march of Hooker 
from Fairfax to Frederick was one of the most rapid of the war. 
The Eleventh Corps marched fifty-four miles in two days, — a 
striking contrast to the movement in September, 1862, when 
the army made but five miles a day. 

It was a dismal day at Frederick when the news was promul- 
gated that General Hooker was relieved of the command. Not- 
withstanding the result at Chancellorsville, the soldiers had a 
good degree of confidence in him. General Meade was un- 
known except to his own corps. He entered the war as briga- 
dier in the Pennsylvania Reserves. He commanded a division 
at Antietam and at Fredericksburg, and the Fifth Corps at 
Chancellorsville. 

General Meade cared but little for the pomp and parade of 
war. His own soldiers respected him because he was always 
prepared to endure hardships. They saw a tall, slim, gray- 
bearded man, wearing a slouch hat, a plain blue blouse, with 
his pantaloons tucked into his boots. He was plain of speech, 
and familiar in conversation. He enjoyed in a high degree, 
especially after the battle of Fredericksburg, the confidence of 
the President. 

I saw him soon after he was informed that the army was un- 
der his command. There was no elation, but on the contrary he 
seemed weighed down with a sense of the responsibility resting 
on him. It was in the hotel at Frederick. He stood silent and 
thoughtful by himself. Few of all the noisy crowd around knew 
of the change that had taken place. The correspondents of the 
press knew it long before the corps commanders were informed 
of the fact. No change was made in the machinery of the army, 
and there was but a few hours' delay in its movement. 

General Hooker bade farewell to the principal officers of the 
army on the afternoon of the 28th. They were drawn up in 



262 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

line. He shook hands with each oflficer, laboring in vain to 
stifle his emotion. The tears rolled down his cheeks. The 
officers were deeply affected. He said that he had hoped to lead 
them to victory, but the power above him had ordered other- 
wise. He spoke in high terms of General Meade. He be- 
lieved that they would defeat the enemy under his leadership. 

While writing out the events of the day in the parlor of a 
private house during the evening, I heard the comments of 
several officers upon the change which had taken place. 

" Well, I think it is too bad to have him removed just now," 
said a captain. 

" I wonder if we shall have McClellan back ? " queried a 
lieutenant. 

" Well, gentlemen, I don't know about Hooker as a com- 
mander in the field, but I do know the Army of the Potomac 
was never so well fed and clothed as it has been since Joe 
Hooker took command." 

" That is so," said several. 

After a short silence, another officer took up the conversa- 
tion and said, — 

" Yes, the army was in bad condition when he took command 
of it, and bad off every way ; but it never was in better condi- 
tion than it is to-day, and the men begin to like him." 

The army was too patriotic to express any dissatisfaction, 
and in a few days the event was wholly forgotten. 

It was evident that a collision of the two armies must take 
place before many days, and their positions, and the lines 
of movement indicated that it must be near Gettysburg, which 
is the county seat of Adams, Pennsylvania, nearly forty miles 
a little north of .east from Frederick, on the head-waters of 
the Monocacy. Rock Creek, which in spring-time leaps over 
huge granite boulders, runs south, a mile east of the town, and 
is the main stem of the Monocacy. Being a county seat, it is 
also a grand centre for that section of the State, contains three 
thousand inhaljitants, and has a pleasant location, surrounded 
with scenery of quiet beauty, hills, valleys, the dark outline 
and verdure-clad sides of the Blue Ridge in the west, and the 
billowy Catoctin range on the south. Roads radiate in all 
directions. It was a central point, admitting of a quick con- 
centration of forces. 



1863.] 



THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 



263 



The army commanded by General Meade consisted of seven 
corps. 

1. Major-General Reynolds ; 2. Major-General Hancock ; 3. 
Major-General Sickles ; 5. Major-General Sykes ; 6. Major- 
General Sedgwick ; 11. Major-General Howard ; 12. Major- 
General Slocnm. 

As Ewell was at York, and as Lee was advancing in that 
direction, it was necessary to take a wide sweep of country in 
the march. All Sunday the army was passing through Fred- 
erick. It was a strange sight. The churches were open, and 
some of the officers and soldiers attended service, — a precious 
privilege to those who before entering the army were engaged 
in Sabbath schools. The stores also were open, and the town 
was cleaned of goods, — boots, shoes, needles, pins, tobacco, 
pipes, paper, pencils, and other trifles which add to a soldier's 
comfort. 

Cavalry, infantry, and artillery were pouring through the 
town, the bands playing, and the soldiers singing their liveliest 



A 



X/ 



,@ -GETTYSBURG ^ 

<// %. V-®— ^'"^^ ■'* 



# / / / / K 






/ ? 






// © / 



■ ; / / / y ,.;^'WESTMI^STER 



©FREDERICK 



264 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [June, 

songs. The First Corps moved up the Emmettsburg road, and 
formed the left of the line ; the Eleventh Corps marched up 
a parallel road a little farther east, through Griegerstown. The 
Third and Twelfth Corps moved on parallel roads leading to 
Taney town. The Second and Fifth moved still farther east, 
through Liberty and Uniontown, while the Sixth, with Gregg's 
division of cavalry, went to Westminster, forming the right of 
the line. 

The lines of march were like the sticks of a fan, Frederick 
being the point of divergence. 

On this same Sunday afternoon Lee was at Chambersburg, 
directing Ewell, who was at York, to move to Gettysburg. A. 
P. Hill was moving east from Chambersburg towards the same 
point, while Longstreet's, the last corps to cross the Potomac, 
was moving through Waynesboro' and Fairfield, marching north- 
east towards the same point. 

It was a glorious spectacle, that movement of the army north 
from Frederick. I left the town accompanying the Second and 
Fifth Corps. Long lines of men and innumerable wagons were 
visible in every direction. The people of Maryland welcomed 
the soldiers hospitably. 

When the Fifth Corps passed through the town of Liberty, 
a farmer rode into the village, mounted on his farm-wagon. 
His load was covered by white table-cloths. 

" What have ye got to sell, old fellow ? Bread, eh ? " said a 
soldier, raising a corner of the cloth, and revealing loaves of 
sweet soft plain bread, of the finest wheat, with several bushels 
of ginger-cakes. 

" What do you ask for a loaf? " \ 

" I have n't any to sell," said the farmer. I 

" Have n't any to sell ? What are ye here for ? " i 

The farmer made no reply. * 

" See here, old fellow, won't ye sell me a hunk of your 
gingerbread ? " said the soldier, producing an old wallet. 
" No." 

" Well, you are a mean old cuss. It would be serving you 
right to tip you out of your old bread-cart. Here we are march- 
ing all night and all day to protect your property, and fight the 
Rebs. We have n't had any breakfast, and may not have any 



1863.] THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 265 

dinner. You are a set of mean cusses round here, I reckon," 
said the soldier. 

A crowd of soldiers had gathered, and others expressed their 
indignation. Tlie old farmer stood up on his wagon-seat, took 
off the table-cloths, and replied, — 

" I did n't bring my bread here to sell. My wife and daugh- 
ters set up all night to bake it for you, and you are welcome to 
all I 've got, and wish I had ten times as much. Help your- 
selves, boys." 

" Hurrah ! hurrah ! hurrah ! " "Bully for you ! " " You 're 
a brick ! " "Three cheers for the old man ! " " Three more 
for the old woman ! " " Three more for the girls ! " 

They threw up their caps, and fairly danced with joy. The 
bread and cakes were gone in a twinkling. 

" See here, my friend, I take back all the hard words I said 
about you," said the soldier, shaking hands with the farmer, 
who sat on his wagon overcome with emotion. 

On Tuesday evening. General Reynolds, who was at Emmetts- 
burg, sent word to General Meade that the Rebels were evi- 
dently approaching Gettysburg. At the same time, the Rebel 
General Stuart, with his cavalry, appeared at Westminster. He 
had tarried east of the Blue Ridge till Lee was across the Poto- 
mac, — till Meade had started from Frederick, — then crossing 
the Potomac at Edwards's Ferry, he pushed directly northeast 
of the Monocacy, east of Meade's army, through Westminster, 
where he had a slight skirmish with some of the Union cavalry, 
moved up the pike to Littlestown and Hanover and joined 
Lee. 

Riding to Westminster I overtook General Gregg's division 
of cavalry, and on Wednesday moved forward with it to Han- 
over Junction, which is thirty miles east of Gettysburg. There, 
while our horses were eating their corn at noon, I heard the 
distant cannonade, the opening of the great battle. 

Striking directly across the country, I rejoined the Fifth 
Corps at Hanover. There were dead horses and dead soldiers 
in the streets lying where they fell. The wounded had been 
gathered into a school-house, and the warm-hearted women of 
the place were ministering to their comfort. It was evening. 
The bivouac fires of the Fifth Corps were gleaming in the 



266 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

meadows west of the town, and the worn and weary soldiers 
were, asleep, catching- a few hours of repose before moving on 
to the place where they were to lay down their lives for their 
country. 

It was past eight o'clock on Thursday morniiig, July 2d, be- 
fore we reached the field. The Fifth Corps, turning off from 
the Hanover road, east of Rock Creek, passed over to the Bal- 
timore pike, crossed Rock Creek, filed through the field on the 
left hand and moved towards Little Round-top, or Weed's Hill 
as it is now called. 

Riding directly up the pike towards the cemetery, I saw the 
Twelfth Corps on my right, in the thick woods crowning Culp's 
Hill. Beyond, north of the pike, was the First Corps. Ammu- 
nition wagons were going up, and the artillerymen were filling 
their limber chests. Pioneers were cutting down the trees. 

Reaching the top of the hill in front of the cemetery gate the 
battle-field was in view. To understand a battle, the movements 
of the opposing forces, and what they attempt to accomplish, it 
is necessary first to comprehend the ground, its features, the 
hills, hollows, woods, ravines, ledges, roads, — how they are 
related. A rocky hill is frequently a fortress of itself. Rail fen- 
ces and stone walls are of value, and a ravine maybe equiva- 
lent to ten thousand men. 

Tying my horse and ascending the stairs to the top of the 
gateway building, I could look directly down upon the town. 
The houses were not forty rods distant. Northeast, three 
fourths of a mile, was Culp's Hill. 

On the northern side of the Baltimore pike were newly 
mown fields, the grass springing fresh and green since the 
mower had swept over it. In those fields were batteries with 
breastworks thrown up by Howard on Wednesday night, — 
light affairs, not intended to resist cannon-shot, but to protect 
the cannoneers from sharpshooters. Howard's lines of infantry 
were behind stone-walls. The cannoneers were Ij^ng beside 
their pieces, — sleeping perhaps, but at any rate keeping close, 
for, occasionally, a bullet came singing past them. Looking 
north over the fields, a mile or two, we saw a beautiful farming 
country, — fields of ripened grain, — russet mingled with the 
green in the landscape. 



1863.] THE INVASION OF PENNSYLVANIA. 267 

Conspicuous among the buildings is the almshouse, with its 
brick walls, great barn, and numerous out-buildings, on the 
Harrisburg road. Beyond are the houses of David and John 
Blocher, — John Blocher's being at the junction of the Car- 
lisle and Newville roads. Looking over the town, the buildings 
of Pennsylvania College are in full view, between the road 
leading northwest to Mummasburg, and the unfinished track of 
a railroad running west through a deep excavation a half-mile 
fi'om the college. The Chambersburg turnpike runs parallel 
to the railroad. South of this is the Lutheran Theological 
Seminary, beautifully situated, in front of a shady grove of 
oaks. West and southwest we look upon wheat, clover, and 
corn fields, on both sides of the road leading to Emmettsburg. 
A half-mile west of this road is an elevated ridge of land, 
crowned with apple-orchards and groves of oaks. Turning to 
the southeast, two miles distant, is Round-top, shaped like a 
sugar-loaf, rocky, steep, hard to climb, on its western face, 
easy to be held by those who have possession, clad with oaks 
and pines. Nearer, a little east of the meridian, is Weed's 
Hill, with Plum Run at its western base, flowing through a 
rocky ravine. From the sides of the hill, and on its top, great 
boulders bulge, like plums in a pudding. It is very stony 
west of the hill, as if Nature in making up the mould had 
dumped the debris there. 

Between Round-top and Weed's there is a gap, where men 
bent on a desperate enterprise might find a passway. Between 
Weed's and the cemetery the ridge is broken down and 
smoothed out into fields and pastures. The road to Taney- 
town runs east of this low ridge, the road to Emmettsburg 
west of it. A small house stands on the west side of the 
Taneytown road, with the American flag flying in front of it. 
There are horses hitched to the fences, while others are nib- 
bling the grass in the fields. Officers with stars on their shoul- 
ders are examining maps, writing, and sending off" cavalrymen. 
It is General Meade's head-quarters. When the Rebel batteries 
open it will be a warm place. 

Having taken a general look at the field, I rode forward 
towards the town, between Stewart's and Taft's batteries, in 
position on either side of the road. Soldiers in blue were ly- 
ing behind the garden fences. 



268 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

" Where are you going ? " said one. 

" Into the town." 

" I reckon not. The Rebs hold it, and I advise you to turn 
about. It is rather dangerous where you are. The Rebels are 
right over there in that brick house." 

Right over there was not thirty rods distant. 

" Ping ! " — and there was the sharp ring of a bullet over 
our heads. 

General Howard was in the cemetery with his maps and 
plans spread upon the ground. 

" We are just taking a lunch, and there is room for one 
more," was his kind and courteous welcome. Then removing- 
his hat, he asked God to bless the repast. The bullets were 
occasionally singing over us. Soldiers were taking up the 
headstones and removing the monuments from their pedes- 
tals. 

" I want to preserve them, besides, if a shot should strike a 
stone, the pieces of marble would be likely to do injury," said 
the General. 

The flowers were blooming around us. I gathered a hand- 
ful as a memento of the hour. Preparations were rapidly 
going on for the approaching struggle. North, west, and 
southwest the whole country was alive with Rebels, — long 
lines of men deploying in various directions, tents going up, 
with yellow flags above them on the distant hills, thousands of 
canvas-covered wagons, slowly winding along the roads, reacli- 
ing as far as the eye could see towards Chambersburg, Car- 
lisle, and Fairfield, — turning into the fields and taking positions 
in park. There were batteries of artillery, the cannon gleam- 
ing in the noonday sun, and hundreds of horsemen riding in 
hot haste on many a desperate errand. 

While partaking of our refreshment, General Howard nar- 
rated the operations of the preceding day. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 269 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 

On Tuesday evening, the 30th of June, General Reynolds 
was in camp on Marsh Run, a sliort distance from Emmetts- 
burg, while General Howard, with the Eleventh Corps, was in 
that town. Instructions were received from General Meade as- 
signing General Reynolds to the command of the First, Eleventh, 
and Third Corps. General Reynolds moved early in the morn- 
ing to Gettysburg, and sent orders to General Howard to fol- 
low. General Howard received the orders at 8 o'clock in the 
morning. General Barlow's division of the Eleventh followed 
the First Corps by the most direct road while General Schurz's 
and General Steinwehr's divisions went by Horner's Mills, the 
distance being thirteen miles. General Howard, with his staff, 
pushed on in advance of his troops. 

Buford's division of cavalry passed through Gettysburg on 
Tuesday and went into camp a mile and a half west of the town 
on the Chambersburg pike. At 9.30 A. M. on Wednesday, the 
Rebels of A. P. Hill's division appeared in front of him, and 
skirmishing commenced on the farm of Hon. Edward McPher- 
son. General Reynolds rode into Gettysburg about 10 o'clock 
in advance of his troops, turned up the Chambersburg road, 
reconnoitred the position, rode back again, met the head of 
his column a mile down the Emmettsburg road, turned it di- 
rectly across the fields, towards the seminary, and deployed 
his divisions across the Chambersburg road. General Archer's 
brigade of Heth's division of A. P. Hill's corps was advancing 
eastward, unaware of Reynolds's movement. He had passed 
Herr's tavern, two miles beyond the town, when he found him- 
self face to face with General Meredith's brigade of Reynolds's 
command. The fight opened at once. Archer and several hun- 
dred of his men were captured. General Cutler, pushing out 
from the town between the half-finished railroad and the Cham- 



270 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

bersburg road, came in contact with Davis's brigade of Missis- 
gippians. The contest increased. General Reynolds, while 
riding along the line, was killed in the field beyond the Sem- 
inary, and the command devolved on General Doubleday. 

General Howard heard the cannonade, and riding rapidly up 
the Emmettsburg road entered the town, sent messengers in 
search of General Reynolds, asking for instructions, not know- 
ing that he had been killed. 

While waiting the return of his aids, he went to the top of 
the college to reconnoitre the surrounding country. His aid, 
Major Biddle, soon came back, with the sad intelligence that 
General Reynolds had fallen, and that the command devolved 
on himself. 

It was half past eleven. The Rebels were appearing in in- 
creased force. The prisoners taken said that the whole of A. 
P. Hill's corps was near by. 

" You will have your hands full before night. Longstrcet is 
near, and Ewell is coming," said one, boastingly. 

" After an examination of the general features of the coun- 
try," said General Howard, " I came to the conclusion that the 
only tenable position for my limited force was on this ridge. I 
saw that this was the highest point. You will notice that it 
commands all the other eminences. My artillery can sweep 
the fields completely." 

He pointed towards the north, where across the pike, just 
beyond the gateway, were Colonel Wainwright's batteries of the 
First Corps, and around us were Colonel Osborn's of the 
Eleventh. Behind us, east of the cemetery, was some of 
the reserve artillery. 

The head of the Eleventh Corps reached Gettysburg about 
twelve o'clock. The first and third division passed through the 
town, moved out beyond the college, and joined the right of 
the First Corps. Howard sent three batteries and his second 
division, Steinwehr's, to take possession of the cemetery and 
the hill north of the Baltimore pike. 

Thus far success had attended the Union arms. A large 
number of prisoners had been taken with but little loss, and 
the troops were holding their own against a superior force. 
About half past twelve cavalry scouts reported that Ewell was 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 271 

coming down the York road, and was not more than four miles 
distant. General Howard sent an aid to General Sickles, who 
was at Emmettsburg, requesting him to come on with all haste. 
Anotlier was sent down the Baltimore pike to the Two Tav- 
erns, three miles distant, with a similar message to General 
Slocum. The Second Corps was there, — resting in the fields, 
Tliey had heard the roar of the battle, and could see the clouds 
of smoke rising over the intervening hills. General Slocum 
was the senior officer. He received the message, but did not, 
for reasons best known to himself, see fit to accede to the re- 
quest. He could have put the Twelfth Corps upon the ground 
in season to meet Ewell, but remained where he was till after 
the contest for the day was over. 

It was a quarter before three when Swell's lines began to ,0 
deploy by John Blocher's house on the Y^pk - road. The Rebel - -li 
batteries were wheeled into position, and opened on Wads- 
worth. Weiderick's battery in the cemetery replied. Again 
a messenger went in haste to the delinqueirt officer. 

" I sent again to General Slocum, stating that my right flank 
was attacked ; that it was in danger of being turned, and ask- 
ing him if he was coming up," said General Howard. 

The message was delivered to Slocum, who was still at the 
Two Taverns, where he had been through the day. Weider- 
ick's battery was in plain view from that position, but Gen- 
eral Slocum did not move. 

This officer on Thursday and Friday did hard service. He 
afterward commanded acceptably one of Sherman's wings 
in the march from Atlanta to the sea, but on the first day at 
Gettysburg his inaction, unless satisfactorily explained, will 
compel the impartial historian to assign him a lower place 
on the scroll of fame than would otherwise have been ac- 
corded him. 

Sickles was too far off to render assistance. Meanwhile 
Ewell was pressing on towards the college. Another division 
of Rebels under General Pender came in from the southwest, 
and began to enfold the left of Howard's line. 

" I want a brigade to help me ! " was the word from Schurz, 
commanding the two divisions in front of Ewell, beyond the 
colleo-e. 



272 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Julj, 

" Send out Costa's brigade," said Howard to his chief of 
staff. The brigade went down through the town accompanied 
by a battery, and joined the line, upon the double-quick. An 
hour passed of close, desperate fighting. It wanted a quarter 
to four. Howard confronted by four times his own force, was 
still holding his ground, waiting for Slocum. Another messen- 
ger rode to tlie Two Taverns, urging Slocum to advance. 

" I must have reinforcements ! " was the message from 
Doubleday on the left. " You must reinforce me ! " was the 
word from Wadsworth in the centre. 

" Hold out a little longer, if possible ; I am expectmg Gen- 
eral Slocum every moment," was Howard's reply. Still 
another despatch was sent to the Two Taverns, but General Slo- 
cum had not moved. The Rebel cannon were cutting Wads- 
worth's line. Pender was sweeping round Doubleday ; Ewell 
was enclosing Scliurz. Sickles was five miles distant, advan- 
cing as fast as he could. Slocum was where he had been from 
early morning, three miles distant. The tide was turning. 
The only alternative was a retreat. It was past four o'clock. 
For six hours the ground had been held against a greatly supe- 
rior force. 

Major Howard, the General's brother, a member of his staff, 
dashed down the pike in search of Slocum, with a request that 
he would move at once, and send one division to the right and 
the other to the left of Getj;ysburg. Slocum declined to go up 
to the front and take any responsibility, as he understood that 
General Meade did not wish to bring on a general engagement. 
He was willing, however, to send forward his troops as General 
Howard desired, and issued his orders accordingly. Under 
military law the question might be raised whether a senior 
officer had a right to throw off the responsibility which circum- 
stances had forced upon him ; also whether he could turn over 
his troops to a subordinate. 

But before the divisions of the Twelfth Corps could get in 
motion, the Rebels had completely enfolded both flanks of 
Howard's line. The order to retreat was given. The two corps 
came crowding through the town. The Rebels pressed on with 
cheers. Most of the First Corps reached the cemetery ridge, and 
were rallied by Howard, Steinwehr, and Hancock. This officer 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBUEG. 273 

had just arrived. The troops were streaming over the hill, when 
he reined up his steed in the cemetery. He came, under direc- 
tion of General Meade, to take charge of all the troops in front. 
The Eleventh Corps was hard pressed, and lost between two and 
three thousand prisoners in the town. 

The Rebels of Ewell's command pushed up the northern slope, 
through the hay-fields, flushed with victory ; but Weiderick's 
battery poured canister in quick discharges into the advancing 
ranks, breaking the line. 

The retreat was so orderly and the resistance so steady that 
the Rebels gave utterance to their admiration. Said General 
Hill,— 

" A Yankee color-bearer floated his standard in the field 
and the regiment fought around it ; and when at last it was 
obliged to retreat, the color-bearer retired last of all, turn- 
ing round now and then to shake his fist in the face of the 
advancing Rebels. He was sorry when he saw him meet his 
doom." * , 

Three color-bearers of the Nineteenth Indiana were shot. 
The Sergeant-Major, Asa Blanchard, ran and took the flag 
when the third man fell, waved it, and cried " Rally, boys ! " 
Tte next moment he fell. His comrades stopped to carry him 
off. The Rebels were close at hand. 

" Don't stop for me," he cried. " Don't let them have the 
flag. Tell mother I never faltered." They were his parting 
words to his comrades,* who saved the flag. 

General Hancock met General Howard and informed him of 
his instructions, saying, " General Meade undoubtedly supposed 
that I was your senior, but you outrank me." 

"It is no time to talk about rank. I shall most cheerfully 
obey your instructions and do all in my power to co-operate 
with you," was Howard's reply, thus waiving the coaimand 
which was his by right. They perfectly agreed in what was to 
be done. General Howard took charge of the troops and bat- 
teries on the right of the line, while General Hancock brought 
order out of confusion on the left. 

The Rebels having been repulsed by the batteries, and satis- 



* Lietitenant Freemantle. — Blachwood's Magazine, September, 1868. 
18 



274 FOUE YEARS OP FIGHTING. [Julj, 

fied with the work of the day, made no further attack, although 
they greatly outnumbered the Union force. 

General Sickles arrived at seven o'clock, and General Slocum 
also came up, he being the senior officer. General Howard 
turned over the. command to him, while General Hancock went 
back to see General Meade at Taney town, to inform him of the 
state of affairs. ' The Third Corps filed into position on the left 
of the First, south of the cemetery, while the Twelfth took 
possession of Gulp's Hill. 

So closed the first day at Gettysburg. 

SECOND DAT. 

Thursday, July 2. 

General Meade arrived on the battle-field at three o'clock on 
the morning of the 2d, and had an inter\dew with General 
Howard soon after by the cemetery gate. They rode along the 
lines together. 

" I am confident that we can hold this position," said Gen- 
eral Howard. 

" I am glad to hear you say so, for it is too late to leave it," 
said Meade. 

The cannonade began at daybreak, the guns in the cemetery 
and those of the Rebels near Blocher's house keeping up a 
steady fire for an hour, when both parties, as if by mutual con- 
sent, became silent; but the pickets were at it all along the 
lines. 

While I was conversing with General Howard, his brother, 
Major Howard, who was keeping a sharp look upon the Rebels, 
came running up, " There is a splendid chance to cut them 
up, General ; just see them ! " 

A column of Rebels was moving along the Chambersburg 
road, and stood out in bold relief. 

" Let Osborn pitch in the shells from his rifled pieces," said 
the Major. 

General Howard surveyed them a moment and replied : " We 
might do them some damage, but we are not quite ready to 
bring on a general engagement. It is n't best to hurry. We 
shall have enough fighting before night." 

The battle had not commenced in earnest. Lee was moving 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 275 

his troops towards the left. The Union pickets were posted 
along the Emmettsburg road ; some were lying down in the 
wheat-fields beyond it, keeping up a steady interchange of 
shots with the Rebels. It was a favorable time to ride over 
the ground where the great contest was to take place. 

The first division, General Ames's, of the Eleventh Corps, was' 
north of the Baltimore pike, the third division, Schurz's, was on 
both sides of it, and the second division, Steinwehr's, in the 
cemetery, lying behind the stone wall, which forms its western 
boundary. Colonel Osborn's batteries were on the crest of the 
ridge, in position to fire over the heads of the infantry. Rob- 
inson's division of the First Corps was posted at the left of 
Steinwehr's, crossing the Taneytown road, Wadsworth's and 
Doubleday's divisions of the First were north of the Baltimore 
pike, to the right of General Ames, reaching to Gulp's Hill, 
where they joined the Twelfth Corps. 

Riding down the road towards Taneytown, I came upon Gen- 
eral Stannard's brigade of nine months' Vermont boys, lying 
in the open field in rear of the cemetery. Occasionally a shell 
came over them from the Rebel batteries, by Blocher's. It was 
their first experience imder fire. They were in reserve, know- 
ing nothing of what was going on the other side of the hill, yet 
tantalized by a flank fire from the distant batteries. A short 
distance farther I came to General Meade's head-quarters, in 
the house of Mrs. Leister. General Meade was there sur- 
rounded by his staif, consulting maps and issuing orders. 
General Hancock's head-quarters' flag, — the tree-foil of the 
Second Corps, — was waving on the ridge southwest of the 
house. General Slocum's, — the star-flag, — was in sight, on 
a conical hill a half-mile eastward. The crescent flag of the 
Eleventh was proudly planted on the highest elevation of the 
cemetery. The Maltese cross of the Fifth Corps was a half- 
mile south, toward Round-top. 

Turning into the field and riding to the top of the ridge, I 
came upon Hayes's division of the Second Corps, joining Rob- 
inson's of the First ; then Gibbons's and Caldwell's of the Sec- 
ond, reaching to a narrow roadway running west from the 
Taneytown road to the house of Abraham Trostle, where, a 
half-mile in advance of the main line, was planted the di- 



276 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Julj, 

amond flag of the Third Corps, General Sickles. Pushing 
directly west, through a field where the grass was ripening for 
the scythe, I approached the house of Mr, Codori, on the 
Emmettsburg road. But it was a dangerous place just then to 
a man on horseback, for the pickets of both armies were lying 
in the wheat-field west of the road. General Carr's brigade 
of the Third Corps was lying behind the ridge near the house 
of Peter Rogers. Soldiers were filling their canteens from the 
brook in the hollow. Further down l)y the house of Mr. WentZj-fUL 
at the corner of the narrow road leading east from the Emmetts- 
burg road, and in the peach-orchards on both sides of it, were 
troops and batteries. The Second New Hampshire, the First 
Maine, and the Third Michigan were there, holding the angle 
of the line, which here turned east from the Emmettsbui^ 
road, Thompson's battery was behind Wentz's house. Gen- 
eral Sickles had his other batteries in position along the nar- 
row road, the muzzles of the guns pointing southwest. Ames's 
New York battery was in the orchard, and the gunners were 
lying beneath the peach-trees, enjoying the leafy shade. 
Clark's New Jersey battery, Phillips's Fifth Massachusetts, 
and Bigelow's Ninth Massachusetts were on the left of Ames. 
Bigelow's was in front of Trestle's house, having complete 
command and the full sweep of a beautiful slope beyond the 
road for sixty rods. 

The slope descends to a wooded ravine through which winds 
a brook, gurgling over a rocky bed. Beyonti the brook are the 
stone farm-house and capacious barn of John Rose, in whose 
door-yard were the Union pickets, exchanging a shot now and 
then with the Rebels of Longstreet's corps, south of Rose's, 
who were lying along the Emmettsburg road. 

General Barnes's division of the Third Corps was in the 
woods south of the narrow road, and among the rocks in front 
of Weed's Hill. 

Sickles had advanced to the position upon his own judgment 
of the fitness of the movement. He believed that it was neces- 
sary to hold the ravine, down to Round-top, to prevent the 
enemy from passing through the gap between that eminence 
and Weed's Hill. 

General Meade had called his corps commanders to his head 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 277 

quarters for consultation. Sickles did not attend, deeming it 
of vital importance to prepare for the advance of the enemy, 
and his soldiers were levelling fences and removing ohstruc- 
tibns. 

A peremptory order reached Sickles requiring his presence. 
He rode to the head-quarters of the army, but the conference 
was over, and he went back to his command followed by Gen 
eral Meade. 

" Are you not too much extended ? Can you hold your front ? " 
asked the Commander-in-Chief. 

" Yes, only I shall want more troops." 

" I will send you the Fifth Corps, and you may call on Han- 
cock for support." 

" I shall need more artillery." 

" Send for all you want. Call on General Hunt of the Artil- 
lery Reserve. I will direct him to send you all you want." 

The pickets were keeping up a lively fire. 

" I think that the Rebels will soon make their appearance," 
said Sickles. 

A moment later and the scattering fire became a volley. 
General Meade took another look at the troops in position, and 
galloped back to his head-quarters. 

General Lee, in his report, has given an outline of his inten- 
tions. He says : — 

" It had not been intended to fight a general battle at such a distance 
from our base, unless attacked by the enemy ; but, finding ourselves 
unexpectedly confronted by the Federal army, it became a matter of 
difficulty to withdraw through the mountains with our large trains. At 
the same time the country was unfavorable for collecting supplies while 
in the presence of the enemy's main body, as he was enabled to. restrain 
our foraging parties by occupying the passes of the mountains with 
regular and local troops. A battle thus became, in a measure, unavoid- 
able. Encouraged by the successful issue of the engagement of the 
first day, and in view of the valuable results that would ensue from the 
defeat of the army of General Meade, it was thought advisable to re- 
new the attack. 

" The remainder of Ewell's and HiH's corps having arrived, and two 
divisions of Longstreet's, our preparations were made accordingly. 
During the afternoon intelligence was received of the arrival of Gen- 
eral Stuart at Carlisle, and he was ordered to march to Gettysburg, 



278 . FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

and take position on the left. A full account of these engagements 
cannot be given until the reports of the several commanding officers 
shall have been received, and I shall oply oifer a general description. 

" The preparations for attack were not completed until the afternoon 
of the 2d. 

" The enemy held a high and commanding ridge, along which he had 
massed a large amount of artillery. General Ewell occupied the left 
of our line, General Hill the centre, and General Longstreet the right. 
In front of General Longstreet the enemy held a position from which, 
if he could be driven, it was thought that our army could be used to 
advantage in assailing the more elevated ground beyond, and thus en- 
able us to reach the crest of the ridge. That officer was directed to 
endeavor to carry this position, while General Ewell attacked directly 
the high ground on the enemy's right, which had already been partially 
fortified. General Hill was instructed to threaten the centre of the 
Federal line, in order to prevent reinforcements being sent to either 
wing, and to avail himself of any opportunity that might present itself 
to attack." 

Lee had been all day perfecting his plans. He was riding 
along his lines at sunrise, reconnoitring Meade's position. His 
head-qnarters were near the Theological Seminary, where, at 
five o'clock in the morning, Lee, Hill, Longstreet, Hood, and 
Heth were engaged in conversation. The conference lasted 
till seven o'clock, when Longstreet rode down to his corps to 
make arrangements for the attack. Hood had the extreme 
right, and McLaws stood next in line. Pickett, commanding 
his other division, had not arrived. It was to be held in 
reserve.* 

* The accompanying plan of the battle-field accurately represents the general 
positions of the troops engaged. On the right of the Union line is the Twelfth 
Corps ; then two divisions of the First ; then the Eleventh in and around the 
cemetery ; then Robinson's division of the First ; then the Second and the Fifth on 
the left, occupying "Weed's Hill. The Third Corps is in the position it occupied at 
the beginning of the battle on the afternoon of the second day. It was forced back- 
to Trostle's house. The Sixth Corps is in the position it occupied at sunset on the 
second day. On the third day it was in line along Weed's Hill. When Slocum 
went over from the right to aid in repulsing Longstreet on the second day, he 
passed near the two houses standing on the Taneytown road. Meade's quarters 
were in the house over which a flag is flying. 

Longstreet is in the position which he occupied at three o'clock on the afternoon 
of the second day, and to which he retired after failing to push Sickles beyond 
Trostle's. 

Pickett commanded a division and not a corps. But as his division took the lead 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 279 

Lee chose, as his first point of attack, the position occupied 
by Sickles. The ground by Wentz's house is higher than the 
ridge, where Hancock had established his head-quarters. If he 
could drive Sickles from the peach-orchard by turning his left 
flank, and gain Weed's Hill, Meade would be compelled to re- 
treat, and the nature of the ground was such in rear of the 
cemetery that a retreat might be turned into a complete rout. 
Meade's position was a very fair one for defence, but one from 
which an army could not well retire before a victorious enenay. 
The trains in park along Rock Creek would have been in the 
way. Baggage trains are exceedingly useful, but there are 
times when commanders do not know what to do with them. 
A battery in the hands of the enemy, planted on the ridge, or 
in the cemetery, if those places had fallen into the hands of the 
Rebels, would have produced confusion in Meade's rear among 
the teamsters, who are not always cool under fire, especially if 
they have refractory mules to manage. General Meade would 
have chosen a position fifteen or twenty miles in rear, nearer 
to his base of supplies, and had he been at Gettysburg on 
Wednesday evening, doubtless would have ordered a retreat. 
Tiie question, whether to fall back or to hold the position, was 
seriously debated. But Howard had made the stand. He be- 
lieved that the position could be held, and Lee defeated there. 
He did not calculate for a defeat, but for victory. Had Meade 
fallen back, Lee would have been wary of moving on. It was 
not his intention, he says, to fight a general battle so far from 
his base. He would have followed cautiously, if at all. Through 



in the last attack, on the third day, and as his repulse was seemingly the turning- 
point of the Rebellion, especial mention has been made of the part taken by the 
troops under his command. Hill supported him. A portion of HiU's troops were 
with Long-street in the attack of the second day. 

Ewell is in the position he occupied at dark on the second day, while two of Slo- 
cum's divisions were aiding the left of Meade's line. 

Lee's head-quarters were near Smucker's house. 

The fight on the first day began on Willoughby's Run. The Union lines on that 
day extended from the Middletown road along the semicircle occupied by the 
Rebel cannon in the diagram, to the railroad east of Blocher's. The map is 
reduced from an accurate survey. 

The best plan of this battle extant is the isometrical picture of Gettysburg, by 
Colonel J. B. Batchelder, who has devoted many months to the study of the field. 
It will ever be standard authority for the historian. 



280 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [J^i^j 

the foresight, faith, and courage of Howard, therefore, Gettys- 
burg has become a turning-point in history. And yet, not that 
alone, for the warp and woof of history are made up of innu- 
merable threads. The Rebels, on that afternoon of Thursday, 
as they moved out from the woods into the fields south of the 
house of John Rose, had a thcrrough contempt for the troops 
in blue, standing beneath the peach-trees in Sherfy's orchard, 
and along the road towards Trostle's. Big Bethel, Bull Run, 
Richmond, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Cedar 
Mountain, Harper's Ferry they remembered as victories ; 
and even Antietam and South Mountain were called drawn 
battles by the Rebel commander-in-chief. They had already 
achieved one victory on the soil of Pennsylvania. Five thou- 
sand Yankees had been captured. The troops of the Confed- 
eracy were invincible, not only wlii^e fighting at their own 
doorS, but as invaders of the North. Such was the feeling 
of the soldiers. But the Rebel officers were not quite so 
sanguine of success as the men. An Englishman, who sav 
the fight from the Rebel side, says : — 

" At 4.30 P. M. (Wednesday) we came in sight of Gettysburg, and 
joined General Lee and General Hill, who were on the top of one of 
the ridges which form the peculiar feature of thte country round Gettys- 
burg. We could see the enemy retreating up one of the opposite ridges, 
pursued by the Confederates with loud yells. 

" The position into which the enemy had been driven was evidently 
a strong one. General Hill now came up, and told me he had been 
very unwell all day, and in fact he looks very delicate. He said he 
had two of his divisions engaged, and had driven the enemy four miles 
into his present position, capturing a great many prisoners, some cannon, 
and some colors ; he said, however, that the Yankees had fought with 
a determination unusual to them. He pointed out a railway cutting 
in which they had made a good stand ; also a field, in the centre of 
which he had seen a man plant the regimental colors, round which the 
regiment had fought for some time with much obstinacy; and when at 
last it was obliged to retreat, the color-bearer retired last of all, turning 
round every now and then to shake his fist at the advancing Rebelsi. 
General Hill said he felt quite sorry when he saw this gallant Yankee 
meet his doom. 

" General Ewell had come up at 3.30 on the enemy's right and com- 
pleted his discomfiture. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBUpG. 281 

" General Reynolds, one of the best Yankee generals, was reported 
killed. Whilst we were talking, a message arrived from General Ewell, 
requesting Hill to press the enemy in front, whilst he performed the 
same operation on his right. The pressure was accordingly applied in 
a mild degree, but the enemy were too strongly posted, and it was too 
late in the evening for a regular attack." * 

General Hill and General Lee had been observant of the 
" determination unusual to the Yankees." The " pressure " 
brought upon Howard in the cemetery, at nightfall, was resisted 
by men who had suffered defeat, who had left a third of their 
comrades dead or wounded on the field, or as prisoners in the 
hands of th^ enemy. But tlie Rebel rank-and-file, remember- 
ing only the victories they had already won, did not for a 
moment doubt their ability to win another. They were flushed 
with the enthusiasm of repeated successes. 

On the other hand, the soldiers of the Union believed, with 
Howard, Hancock, Sickles, and other officers, that they could 
hold the position against the assaults of Lee. It was not a 
calculation of advantages, — of the value of hills, ravines, 
fields, and meadows, — or of numbers, but a determination 
to win the day or to die on the spot. 

Such were the feelings of the opposing parties on that sunny 
afternoon, as they appeared in line of battle. 

The Eebel forces moving to the attack south of Wentz's 
were wholly under Longstreet's command. Anderson's divis- 
ion of Hill's corps was joined to McLaw's and Hood's, to form 
the attacking column. The Washington Artillery of New -J/ 
Orleans was in the woods southwest of W^titz's bouse. Barks- ^' ^^^y 
dale's Mississippians were behind artillery. A few rods west 
of the same\ house, on a narrow road leading towards Hagers- 
town, is theXresidence of Mr. Warfield. A third of a mile 
north of Wentz's, on the Emmettsburg road, is the house of 
Philip Snyder. Between Warfield's and Snyder's, Longstreet 
planted fifty or sixty guns to bear on the peach-orchard and 
the batteries which Sickles had stationed along the road lead- 
ing past Trostle's, and upon the woods east of the house of 
Mr. Rose. 

Longstreet's plan was to attack with all the vigor possible, — 

* Freemantle. 



282 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

to bear down all opposition in the outset. Commanders fre- 
quently begin an engagement by feeling of the enemy's posi- 
tion, — advancing a few skirmishers, a regimient, or a brigade ; 
but in this instance Longstreet advanced all but his reserve. 

It was half past three. Riding rapidly to the right to see if 
there were signs of activity in that direction, dismounting in 
rear of the line, and tying my horse to a tree, I took a look 
northward. A mile to the north Rebel officers were in view, 
galloping furiously over the fields, disappearing in groves, dash- 
ing down the road to the town, and again returning. There 
was a battery in position beyond the railroad, and as I looked 
narrowly at an opening between two groves, I saw the glis- 
tening of bayonets, and a line as if a column of men were 
marching east toward the thick forest on Rock Creek. It was 
surmised that they were to attack our right upon Culp's Hill 
by advancing directly down Rock Creek through the woods. 
Prisoners captured said that Ewell had sworn a terrible oath 
to turn our flank, if it took his last man. To guard against 
such a movement, Slocum was throwing up breastworks from 
the crest of the hill down to Rock Creek. Two batteries 
were placed in position on hillocks south of the turnpike, to 
throw shells up the creek, should such an attempt be made. 
The Union Cavalry in long lines was east of the creek, and 
the Reserve Artillery, in parks, with horses harnessed, was in 
the open field south of Slocum's head-quarters. 

" As near as I can make out, the Rebels have got a line of 
batteries in that piece of woods," said an officer who had been 
looking steadily across the ravine to Blocher's Hill. Laying 
my glass upon the breastwork, I could see the guns and the 
artillerymen beside their pieces, as if ready to begin the action. 

Suddenly there came the roar of a gun from the south. It 
was Longstreet's signal. Another, another, and the fire ran 
from Snyder's to the Seminary, then round to Blocher's Hill. 

I was at the moment near the cemetery. There came a storm 
of sliot and shell. Marble slabs were broken, iron fences shat- 
tered, horses disembowelled. The air was full of wild, hideous 
noises, — the low buzz of round shot, the whizzing of elongated 
bolts, and the stunning explosions of shells, overhead and all 
around. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 283 

There was a quick response from the Union batteries. In 
three minutes the earth shook with tlie tremendous concus- 
sion of two hundred pieces of artillery. 

The missiles of the Rebels came from the northeast, north, 
northw^est, west, and southwest. The position occupied by the 
Vermont nine months' men was one of great exposure, as the 
ground in rear of the cemetery was the centre of a converging 
fire. 

" Lie close," said General Stannard to the men. They obeyed 
him, but he walked to the top of the ridge and watched the 
coming on of the storm in the southwest. 

The Fifth Corps had not moved into position, but was resting 
after the sixteen miles' march from Hanover. 

The Rebels of Longstreet's command first in sight come out 
from the woods behind Warfield's house, a long line in the form 
of a crescent, reaching almost to Round-top. Ames's battery 
was the first to open upon them. Thompson, Clark, and Phil- 
lips began to thunder almost simultaneously. Bigelow, from 
his position, could not get a sight at them till two or three 
minutes later. The Third Michigan, Second New Hampshire, 
and Third Maine were the first regiments engaged. The fire 
ran down the line towards Rose's house. The regiments in 
the woods along the ravine south of the house, — the Seven- 
teenth Maine, Third Michigan, and others, — were soon in the 
fight. A portion of the Seventeenth Maine had been skirmish- 
ing all the morning. 

Ward's brigade on the rocky ridge in front of Weed's Hill 
was assailed by Hood. How fearful the fight ! Sickles's front 
line, after an obstinate struggle, was forced back. He was 
obliged to withdraw his batteries by Wentz's house. Bigelow 
retired firing by prologne, over the rocky ground. The contest 
in the peach-orchard and around Rose's house was exceed- 
ingly bloody. Sickles sent his aide for reinforcements: "I 
want batteries and men ! " said he. 

" I want you to hold on where you are until I can get a line 
of batteries in rear of you," said Colonel McGilvery, com- 
manding the artillery of the Third Corps, to Bigelow. " Give 
them canister ! " he added as he rode away. Bigelow's men 
never had been under fire, but they held on till every charge 



284 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

of canister was spent, and then commenced on spherical case. 
Bigelow was just west of Trostle's barn. A Rebel battery has- 
tened up and unlimbered in the field. He opened with all 
his guns, and they limbered up again. McGilvery's batteries 
were not in position, and the gallant captain and his brave men 
would not leave. The Rebels rushed upon the guns, and 
were blown from the muzzles. Others came with demoniac 
yells, climbing upon the limbers and shooting horses. Sergeant 
Dodge went down, killed instantly ; also Sergeant Gilson. Lip- 
man, Ferris, and Nutting, three of the cannoneers, were gone, 
tweiity-two of the men wounded, and Bigelow shot through 
the side ; also four men missing, yet they held on till McGil- 
very had his batteries in position ! 

It was a heroic resistance. Gun after gun was abandoned 
to the advancing Rebels. But the cannoneers were thoughtful 
to retain the rammers, and though the Rebels seized the pieces 
they could not turn them upon the slowly-retreating handful 
of men, who with two pieces still growled defiance. Back to 
Trostle's door-yard, into the garden, halting by the barn, deliv- 
ering a steady fire, they held the enemy at bay till the batteries 
of the Fifth Corps, a little east of Trostle's, and the arrival of 
reinforcements of infantry, permitted their withdrawal. More 
than sixty horses belonging to this one battery were killed in 
this brief struggle at the conimencement of the battle. With 
the seizure of each piece the Rebels cheered, and advanced 
with confident expectation of driving Sickles over the ridge. 

But new actors came. Barnes's division of the Fifth went 
down through Trostle's garden and through the grove south of 
the house, crossed the road, and entered the woods. The Rebels 
were in the ravine by Rose's house. Win slow' s New York 
battery was in a wheat-field south of Trostle's, holding them 
in check, while Hazlitt's battery on Weed's Hill rained a tor- 
rent of shells from its rocky fortress. 

Ayer's division of Regulars, which had been lying east of 
Weed's Hill, moved upon the double-quick through the woods, 
up to the summit. The whole scene was before them : the tur- 
moil and commotion in the woods below, — Barnes going in 
and the shattered regiments of the Third Corps coming out. 
Some batteries were in retreat and others were taking new 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBUEG. 285 

positions. They dashed down the hillside, became a little dis- 
organized in crossing Plum Run, but formed again and went 
up the ridge among the boulders, disappeared in the woods, 
stayed a few minutes, and then, like a shattered wreck upon 
the foaming sea, came drifting to the rear. 

After the battle, an officer of the Seventeenth Regulars 
pointed out to me the line of advance. 

" We went down the hill upon the run," said he. "It was 
like going down into hell ! The Rebels were yelling like devils. 
Our men were falling back. It was terrible confusion : smoke, 
dust, the rattle of musketry, the roaring of cannon, the burst- 
ing of shells." 

The Pennsylvania Reserves, under Crawford, went in. They 
were fighting on their own soil. Among them were soldiers 
whose homes were" in Gettysburg. 

Sickles called upon Hancock for help. Caldwell's division 
went down, sweeping past Trestle's into the wheat-field, dash- 
ing through Barnes's men, who were falling back. Regiments 
from tlu'ee corps and from eight or ten brigades were fighting 
promiscuously. The Rebel lines were also in confusion, — 
advancing, retreating, gaining, and losing. 

It was like the writhing of two wrestlers. Seventy thousand 
men were contending for the mastery on a territory scarcely 
a mile square ! It has been called the battle of Little Round- 
top, but most of the fighting at this point took place between 
Little Round-top on Weed's* Hill and the house of Mr. Rose. 
Bi^ there was also a contest around and upon the hill. 

The advance of Hood enveloped the Union force below. The 
men on Hood's extreme right skirted the base of the hill, clam- 
bered over the rocks by the " Devil's Den," — a rocky gorge, — 
and began to pour into the gap between Weed's and Round-top. 
Vincent's and Weed's brigades were holding the hill. The 
Twentieth Maine, Colonel Chamberlain, was on the extreme 
left. The Eighty-Third Pennsylvania, Forty-Fourth New 
York, and Sixteenth Michigan were farther north. The Twen- 
tieth Maine stood almost alone. There began to be a dropping 
of bullets along the line from the Rebel skirmishers creeping 
into the gap, and Colonel Chamberlain saw the enemy moving 
past his flank. He immediately extended his own left flank, 



286 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

by forming his men in single rank. The fight was fierce. The 
Rebels greatly outnumbered Chamberlain, but he had the ad- 
vantage of position. He was on the crest of the hill, and at 
every lull in the strife his men piled the loose stones into a rude 
breastwork. He sent for assistance, but before the arrival of 
reinforcements Hood's troops had gained the eastern side of 
the hill, and the Twentieth Maine stood in the form of the 
letter U, with Rebels in front, on their flank, and in rear. 

It was nearly six o'clock. I was at Meade's head-quarters. 
The roar of battle was louder and grew nearer. Hill was threat- 
ening the centre. A cloud of dust could be seen down the 
Baltimore pike. Had Stuart suddenly gained our rear? There 
were anxious countenances around the cottage where the flag 
of the Commander-in-Chief was flying. Officers gazed with 
their field-glasses. " It is not cavalry, but infantry," said one. 
" There is the flag. It is the Sixth Corps." 

We could see the advancing bayonets gleaming in the setting 
sun. Faces which a moment before were grave became cheer- 
ful. It was an inspiring sight. The troops of that corps had 
marched thirty-two miles during the day. They crossed Rock 
Creek, filed into the field, past the ammunition train, threw 
themselves upon the ground, tossed aside their knapsacks, and 
wiped the sweat from their sun-burnt cheeks. 

" We want reinforcements. They are flanking us," said an 
officer, riding up to Meade. Word was sent to Slocum, and 
Williams's division of the Twelfth left their breastwork on 
Culp's Hill, came down upon the double-quick, leaping the 
stone walls between Slocum's head-quarters and the cemetery, 
and moved into the field west of the Taueytown road. 

Stannard's brigade was attached to the First Corps, com- 
manded by Doubleday. The Vermont boys had been lying on 
their faces through the long, tormenting hours. They were 
ready for desperate work. Doubleday dashed down to General 
Stannard. There is a strong contrast between these two offi- 
cers. Doubleday is tall, broad-shouldered, a little stooping. 
He was in Sumter with Anderson when the Rebels fired the 
first gun at the old flag. He is cool and courageous. Stan- 
nard is short, straight, compactly built. He was a private citi- 
zen at St. Albans, Vermont, when the war began. He is a 
thorough citizen-soldier, as undaunted as his superior. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 287 

" You are wanted over there. Report to Hancock," said 
Doubleday. 

The men of Vermont sprang to their feet, and went up the 
ridge toward the southwest upon the run. At the same time 
an oflficer rode down to the Sixth Corps. I saw the tired and 
weary men rise from the ground and fall into line. They also 
moved off upon the run toward Weed's Hill, which was all 
aflame. Hazlitt was firing canister from the top. Nearly all 
the Third, Fifth, and Second Corps batteries were at work. 
The sun was just setting. Sickles had been forced back from 
the peach-orchard, and from Rose's house, but he was still hold- 
ing Trestle's. The dark lines of the Sixth Corps became lost to 
sight, as they moved into the woods crowning the hill. There 
were quicker volleys, a lighting up of the sky by sudden flashes, 
followed by a cheer, — not the wild yell peculiar to the Rebels, 
but a sharp, clear hurrah, from the men who had held the hill. 
Longstreet was giving up the struggle, and his men were falling 
back. Colonel Randall, with five companies of the Thirteenth 
Vermont, led the advance of General Stannard's column. 
Hancock had been forced to leave the guns of one of his bat- 
eries on the field near Codori's house. 

The Rebel sharpshooters were lying along the Emmettsburg 
road, pouring in a deadly fire, under cover of which a large 
body of Rebels was advancing to take possession of the pieces. 

" Can you retake that battery ? " was Hancock's question 
to Randall. 

" We '11 do it or die, sir ! " 

" Then go in." 

" Forward ! " said Randall, turning in his saddle and waving 
his sword. His men gave a cheer, and broke into a run. The 
Colonel's horse fell, shot through the shoulder, but the Colonel 
dashed ahead on foot. They reached the guns, drew them to 
the rear. The Rebels came on with a rush. But help was at 
hand, — the Fourteenth Maine joined the Vermonters. Leav- 
ing the guns the soldiers faced about, charged upon the Reb- 
els, captured eighty-three prisoners, and two Rebel cannon, 
and then returned ! Long and loud were the cheers that 
greeted them. 

"You must be green, or you wouldn't have gone down 



288 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [Julj, 

there," said a Pennsylvanian, who had been in a dozen battles. 
The blood of the Vermont boys was up, and they had not cal- 
culated the consequences of such a movement. 

So closed the day on the loft. But just as the contest was 
coming to an end around "Weed's Hill, it suddenly commenced 
on the north side of the cemetery. Hayes's brigade of Louis- 
iana Tigers, and Hoke's North Carolinians, belonging to 
Early's division of Ewell's corps, had been creeping across 
Spangler's farm, up the northern slope of the cemetery hill. 
Suddenly, with a shout they sprang upon Barlow's division, 
commanded by Ames. It was a short, fierce, but decisive con- 
test. The attack was sudden, but the men of Ames's com- 
mand were fully prepared. There was a struggle over the 
guns of two Pennsylvania batteries. The Fifth Maine battery 
was in an exceedingly favorable position, at an angle of the 
earthworks, east of the hill, and cut down the Rebels with a 
destructive enfilading fire. The struggle lasted scarcely five 
minutes, — the Rebels retreating in confusion to the town. 

When Slocum went with Williams to the left there were no 
indications of an attack on Gulp's Hill, but unexpectedly 
Ewell made his appearance in the woods along Rock Creek. 
General Green, who had been loft in command, extended his 
line east and made a gallant fight, but not having men enough 
to occupy all the ground, Ewell was able to take possession 
of the hollow along the Creek. When Williams returned, he 
found his entrenchments in possession cf the enemy. The 
men of the Twelfth threw themselves on the gBound in the 
fields on both sides of the Baltimore pike, for rest till day- 
break. 

" We are doing well," was Longstreet's report to Lee at 
seven o'clock in the evening, from the left.* Ewell himself 
rode down through the town, to report his success on the right. 

At a later hour Longstreet reported that he had carried 
everything before him for some time, capturing several batter- 
ies, and driving the Yankees ; but when Hill's Florida brigade 
and some other troops gave way, he was forced to abandon a 
small portion of the ground he had won, together with all the 
captured guns except three. 

* Blackwood's Magazine, September, 1863. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 289 

It was late in the evening when I threw myself upon a pile 
of straw in an old farm-house, near the Baltimore pike, for a 
few hours' rest, expecting that with the early morning there 
would be a renewal of the battle. 

There was the constant rumble of artillery moving into po- 
sition, of ammunition and supply wagons going up to the 
troops. Lights were gleaming in the hollows, beneath the 
shade of oaks and pines, where the surgeons were at work, 
and where, through the dreary hours wailings and moanings 
rent the air ; yet though within musket-shot of the enemy, and 
surrounded with dying and dead, I found refreshing sleep. 

THIRD DAY. 

Friday, July 3. 

Boom ! boom ! Two guns, deep and heavy, at four o'clock. 
It was a sultry morning. The clouds hung low upon the hills. 
Two more ! and then more rapidly than the tick of a pendu- 
lum came the concussions. There were flashes from all the 
hills, — flashes in the woods along Rock Creek. The cemetery 
was aflame. The door which had been opened against Slocum 
was to be closed, and this was the beginning of the effort. 

The cannonade broke the stillness of the morning, and 
drowned all other sounds. Riding up the turnpike to the bat- 
teries, I had a good view of the battle-ground. General Sickles 
was being carried to the rear on a stretcher. He had suffered 
amputation. Following him was a large number of prisoners, 
taken in the fight upon the left. Some were haggard and care- 
worn, — others indifferent, or sulky, and some very jolly. " I 
have got into the Union after hard fighting," said one, " and 
I intend to stay there." 

There were a few musket-shots in the woods upon the hill, 
from the pickets in advance. Slocum was preparing to regain 
what had been lost. It was seven o'clock before he was ready 
to move. The men moved slowly, but determinedly. The 
Rebels were in the rifle-pits, and opened a furious fire. A thin 
veil of smoke rose above the trees, and floated away before the 
morning breeze. Rapid the fire of musketry, — terrific the 
cannonade. Ewell was determined not to be driven back. Ho 
held on with dogged pertinacity. He had sworn profanely to 

19 



290 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [Julj, 

hold the position, but in vain his effort. The rifle-pits were 
regained, and he was driven, inch by inch, up Rock Creek. 

It took four hours to do it, however. Ewell, well knowing 
the importance of holding the position, brought in all of his 
available force. Johnson's, Rhodes's, and Early's divisions, 
all were engaged. To meet these General Shaler's brigade of 
the Sixth Corps was brought up to Gulp's Hill, while Neil's 
brigade of the same corps was thrown in upon Early's flank 
east of Rock Creek, and the work was accomplished. The men 
fought from behind trees and rocks, with great tenacity. It 
was the last attempt of Lee upon Meade's right. 

Gregg's and Kilpatrick's divisions of cavalry were east of 
Rock Creek. An orderly came dashing down the Hanover 
road. 

" Stuart is coming round on our right ! " said he. " General 
Pleasanton sends his compliments to General Gregg, desiring 
him to go out immediately and hold Stuart in check. His 
compliments also to General Kilpatrick, desiring him to go 
down beyond Round-top, and pitch in with all his might on 
Longstreet's left." 

I was conversing with the two officers at the time. 

"Good! come on, boys!" shouted Kilpatrick, rubbing his 
hands with pleasure. The notes of the bugle rang loud and 
clear above the rumble of the passing army wagons, and Kil- 
patrick's column swept down the hill, crossed the creek, and 
disappeared beyond Round-top. A half-hour later I saw tho 
smoke of his artillery, and heard the wild shout of his men 
as they dashed recklessly upon the Rebel lines. It was the 
charge in which General Farnsworth and a score of gallant 
officers gave up their lives. 

General Gregg's division formed in the fields east of Wolf 
Hill. Stuart had already extended his line along the Bon- 
noughtown road. There was a brisk cannonade between the 
light batteries, and Stuart retired, without attempting to cut 
out the ammunition trains parked along the pike. 

Through the forenoon it was evident that Lee was prepar- 
ing for another attack. He had reconnoitred the ground with 
Longstreet in the morning, and decided to assault Meade's line 
between the cemetery and Weed's Hill with a strong force. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 291 

He could form the attacking column out of sight, in the woods 
west of Codori's house. In advancing the troops would be 
sheltered till they reached the Emmettsburg road. Howard's 
guns in the cemetery would trouble them most by enfilading 
the lines. Howard must be silenced by a concentrated artil- 
lery fire. The cemetery could be seen from every part of the 
line occupied by the Rebels, and all the available batteries were 
brought into position to play upon it, and upon the position 
occupied by the Second Corps. 

The arrangements were intrusted to Longstreet. He select- 
ed Pickett's, Pender's, Heth's, and Anderson's divisions. Pick- 
ett's were fresh troops. Heth had been wounded, and Pettigrew 
was in command of the division. Wilcox's and Perry's brigades 
of Anderson's division had the right of the first Rebel line. 
Pickett's division occupied the centre of the first line, followed 
by Pender's. Heth's division, followed by Wright's brigade 
of Anderson's, had the left of the line. 

Wilcox and Perry's line of advance was past Klingel's house. 
Pickett's right swept across the Emmettsburg road by the house 
of Peter Rogers ; his left reached to Codori's, where it joined 
Pettigrew's. Rhodes's division of Ewell's corps was brought 
down from the woods by Smucker's house, and put in position 
south of the town, to support Pettigrew's left. The attack- 
ing column numbered from twenty to twenty-five thousand 
men, but the force in support gave nearly thirty-five thou- 
sand men which Longstreet had in hand. 

The movements of the Rebels, as seen from the Union lines, 
indicated an attack upon our extreme left. The Fifth, Third, 
and Sixth Corps therefore were placed well down toward 
Round-top. 

Commencing at the Taneytown road and walking south, we 
have the following disposition of the troops resisting this attack. 
Robinson's division of the First Corps, reaching from the road 
along an oak grove, past a small house occupied by a colored 
man. Hays's division lay behind a stone wall, and a small 
grove of shrub-oaks. Gibbon had no protection except a few 
rails gathered from the fences. There are three oak-trees 
which mark the spot occupied by Hall's brigade. Harrow's 
was just beyond it, south. In front of Harrow's, six or eight 



292 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTIXG. [Julj, 

rods, were three regiments of Stannard's Vermont brigade, — 
the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Sixteenth, — lying in a shallow 
trench. Caldwell's division extended from Gibbon's to the nar- 
row road leading past Trostle's house. . The ridge in rear of 
the troops bristled with artillery. The infantry line was thin, 
but the artillery was compact and powerful. 

Longstreet having made his disposition for the attack, and 
the Rebel artillery not being ready, threw himself on the 
ground and went to sleep.* 

Lee reconnoitred the position from the cupola of the college, 
over which the Confederate hospital-flag was flying, — thus 
violating what has been deemed even by half-civilized races a 
principle of honor. 

Visiting General Meade's head-quarters in the house of Mrs. 
Leister, in the forenoon, I saw the Commander-in-Chief seated 
at a table with a map of Gettysburg spread out before him. 
General "Warren, chief engineer, was by his side. General 
Williams, his Adjutant-General, who knew the strength of 
every regiment, was sitting on the bed, ready to answer any 
question. General Hunt, chief of artillery, was lying on the 
grass beneath a peach-tree in the yard. General Pleasanton, 
chief of the cavalry, neat and trim in dress and person, with 
a riding-wliip tucked into his cavalry boots, was walking unea- 
sily about. Aids were coming and going ; a signal-officer iii 
the yard was waving his flags in response to one on Round-top. 

" Signal-officer on Round-top reports Rebels moving towards 
our left," said the officer to General Meade. 

It was five minutes past one when the signal-gun for the 
opening of the battle was given by the Rebels on Seminary 
Hill. Instantly the whole line of Rebel batteries, an hundred 
and fifty guns, joined in the cannonade. All of the guns north- 
east, north, and northwest of the town concentrated their fire 
upon the cemetery. Those west and southwest opened on 
Hancock's position. Solid shot and shells poured incessantly 
upon the cemetery and along the ridge. The intention of 
Lee was soon understood, — to silence Howard's batteries be- 
cause they enfiladed the attacking force ready to move over 

* Blackwood's Magazine, September, 1864. — Freemantle. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 293 

the fields toward the centre, our weakest point. If they could 
give to the living who held the burial-place a quiet as pro- 
found as that of the sleepers beneath the ground, then they 
might hope to break through the thin line of men composing 
the Second Corps. 

But Howard was not a man to be kept quiet at such a time 
without especial cause. His horses were knocked to pieces, 
the tombstones shivered, iron railings torn, shrubs and trees 
cut down, here and there men killed, but his batteries were 
not silenced. 

Mr. Wilkensou of the New York Tribune, who was at Gen- 
eral Meade's head-quarters when the fire was severest, thus 
describes the scene : — 

" In the shadow cast by the tiny farm-house, sixteen by twenty, Tvhich 
General Meade had made his head-quarters, lay wearied staff officers 
and tired correspondents. There was not wanting to the peacefulness 
of the scene the singing of a bird, which had a nest in a peach-tree 
within the tiny yard of the whitewashed cottage. In the midst of its 
warbling a shell screamed over the house, instantly followed by another, 
I and another, and in a moment the air was full of the most complete 
artillery-prelude to an inftmtry battle that was ever exhibited. Every 
size and form of shell known to British and to American gunnery 
shrieked, whirled, moaned, and whistled, and wrathfully fluttered over 
our ground. As many as six in a second, constantly two in a second, 
bursting and screaming over and around the head-quarters, made a 
very hell of fire that amazed the oldest officers. They burst in the 
yard, — burst next to the fence on both sides, garnished as usual with 
the hitched horses of aides and orderlies. The fastened animals reared 
and plunged with terroi'. Then one fell, then another, — sixteen lay 
dead and mangled before the fire ceased, still fastened by their halters, 
which gave the expression of being wickedly tied up to die painfully. 
These brute victims of a cruel war touched all hearts. Through the 
midst of the storm of screaming and exploding shells an ambulance, 
driven by its frenzied conductor at full speed, presented to all of us the 
marvellous spectacle of a horse going rapidly on three legs. A hinder 
one had been shot off at the hock. A shell tore up the little step at 
the head-quarters cottage, and ripped bags of oats as with a knife. 
Another soon carried off one of its two pillars. Soon a splierical case 
burst opposite the open door, — another ripped through the low garret. 
The remaining pillar went almost immediately to the howl of a fixed 
shot that Whitworth must have made. During this fire, the horses at 



294 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Julj, 

twenty and thirty feet distant were receiving their death, and soldiers 
in Federal blue were torn to pieces in the road, and died with the 
peculiar yells that blend the extorted cry of pain with horror and de- 
spair. Not an orderly, not an ambulance, not a straggler was to be 
seen upon the plain swept by this tempest of orchestral death, thirty 
minutes after it commenced. Were not one hundred and twenty pieces 
of artillery trying to cut from the field every battery we had in position 
to resist their purposed infantry attack, and to sweep away the slight 
defences behind which our infantry were waiting? Forty minutes, — 
fifty minutes, — counted watches that ran, so languidly ! Shells 
through the two lower rooms. A shell into the chimney, that daringly 
did not explode. Shells in the yard. The air thicker, and fuller, 
and more deafening with the howling and whirring of these infernal 
missiles. The Chief of Staff struck, — Seth Williams, — loved and 
respected through the army, separated from instant death by two inches 
of space vertically measured. An aide bored with a fragment of iron 
through the bone of the arm. And the time measured on the sluggish 
watches was one hour and forty minutes." 

A soldier was lying on the ground a few rods distant from 
where I was sitting. There was a shriek, such as I hope never 
again to hear, and his body was whirling in the air, a mangled 
mass of flesh, blood, and bones ! 

A shell exploding in the cemetery, killed and wounded 
twenty-seven men in one regiment ! * and yet the troops, lying 
under the fences, — stimulated and encouraged by General 
Howard, who walked coolly along the line, — kept their places 
and awaited tlie attack. 

It was half past two o'clock. 

" We will let them think that they have silenced us," said 
General Howard to Major Osborne. The artillerists threw 
themselves upon the ground beside their pieces. 

Suddenly there was a shout, — " Here they come ! " 

Every man was on the alert. The cannoneers sprang to 
their feet. The long lines emerged from the woods, and moved 
rapidly but steadily over the fields, towards the Emmettsburg 
road. 

Howard's batteries burst into flame, throwing shells with the 
utmost rapidity. There are gaps in the Rebel ranks, but on- 

* General Howard's Report. 



1803.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. - 295 

ward still they come. They reach the Emmettsburg road. 
Pickett's division appears by Kliiigel's house. All of Howard's 
guns are at work now. Pickett turns to the right, moving 
north, driven in part by the fire rolling in upon his flank from 
Weed's Hill, and from the Third, Fifth, and Sixth Corps bat- 
teries. Suddenly he faces east, descends the gentle slope from 
the road behind Codori's, crosses the meadow, comes in reach 
of the muskets of the Vermonters. The three regiments rise 
from their shallow trench. The men beneath the oak-trees 
leap from their low breastwork of rails. There is a ripple, a 
roll, a deafening roar. Yet the momentum of the Rebel col- 
umn carries it on. It is becoming thinner and weaker, but they 
still advance. 

The Second Corps is like a thin blue ribbon. Will it with- 
stand the shock ? " Give them canister ! Pour it into them ! " 
shouts Major Charles Howard, running from battery to battery. 
The Rebel line is almost up to the grove in front of Robin- 
son's. It has reached the clump of shrub-oaks. It has drifted 
past the Vermont boys. Onward still. " Break their third 
line! Smash their supports!" cries General Howard, and Os- 
borne and Wainwright send the fire of fifty guns into the col- 
umn, each piece fired three times a minute ! The cemetery 
is lost to view, — covered with sulphurous clouds, flaming and 
smoking and thundering like Sinai on the great day of the 
Lord ! The front line of Rebels is melting away, — the second 
is advancing to take its place ; but beyond the first and second 
is the third, which reels, breaks, and flies to the woods from 
whence it came, unable to withstand the storm. 

Hancock is wounded, and Gibbon is in command of the 
Second Corps. " Hold your fire, boys ; they are not near 
enough yet," says Gibbon, as Pickett comes on. The first 
volley staggers, but does not stop them. They move upon the 
run, — up to the breastwork of rails, — bearing Hancock's line 
to the top of the ridge, — so powerful their momentum. 

Men fire into each other's faces, not five feet apart. There 
are bayonet-thrusts, sabre-strokes, pistol-shots ; cool, deliberate 
movements on the part of some, — hot, passionate, desperate 
eflbrts with others ; hand-to-hand contests ; recklessness of life ; 
tenacity of purpose ; fiery determination ; oaths, yells, curses, 

\ 



296 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Julj, 

hurrahs, shoutings ; men gohig down on their hands and knees, 
spinning round like tops, throwing out their arms, gulping up 
blood, falling; legless, armless, headless. There are gliastly 
heaps of dead men. Seconds are centuries ; minutes, ages ; 
but the thin line does not break ! 

The Rebels have swept past the Vermont regiments. " Take 
them in flank," says General Stannard. 

The Thirteenth and Sixteenth swing out from the trench, 
turn a right angle to the main line, and face the north. They 
move forward a few steps, pour a deadly volley into the backs 
of Kemper's troops. With a hurrah they rush on, to drive 
home the bayonet. The Fifteenth, Nineteenth, Twentieth Mas- 
sachusetts, and Seventh Michigan, Twentieth New York, Nine- 
teenth Maine, One Hundred Fifty-First Pennsylvania, and other 
regiments catch the enthusiasm of the moment, and close upon 
the foe. 

The Rebel column has lost its power. The lines waver. The 
soldiers of the front rank look round for their supports. They 
are gone, — fleeing over the field, broken, shattered, thrown 
into confusion by the remorseless fire from the cemetery and 
from the cannon on the ridge. The lines have disappeared like 
a straw in a candle's flame. The ground is thick with dead, 
and the wounded are like the withered leaves of autumn. 
Thousands of Rebels throw down their arms and give them- 
selves up as prisoners. 

How inspiring the moment! How thrilling the hour! It 
is the high-water mark of the Rebellion, — a turning-point 
of history and of human destiny ! 

Treason had wielded its mightiest blow. From that time 
the Rebellion began to wane. An account of the battle, written 
on the following day, and published on the 6th of July in the 
Boston Journal, contains the following passage : — 

"The invasion of the North was oyer, — the power of the Southern 
Confederacy broken. There at that sunset hour I could discern the 
future; no longer an overcast sky, but the clear, unclouded starlight, — a 
country redeemed, saved, baptized, consecrated anew to the coming ages. 

" All honor to the heroic living, all glory to the gallant dead ! They 
have not fought in vain, they have not died for naught. No man Hveth 
to himself alone. Not for themselves, but for their children ; for those 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBUEG. 297 

who may never hear of them in their nameless graves, how they yielded 
life ; for the future ; for all that is good, pure, holy, just, true ; for 
humanity, righteousness, peace ; for Paradise on earth ; for Christ and 
for God, they have given themselves a wiUing sacrifice. Blessed be 
their memory forevermore ! " 

I rode along the lines, and beheld the field by the light of 
the gleaming stars. The dead were everywhere thickly strown. 
How changed the cemetery ! Three days before, its gravelled 
walks were smooth and clean ; flowers were in bloom ; birds 
carolled their songs amid the trees ; the monuments were unde- 
faced ; the marble slabs pure and white. Now there were 
broken wheels and splintered caissons; dead horses, shot in 
the neck, in the head, through the body, ' disembowelled by 
exploding shells, legs broken, flesh mangled and torn ; pools 
of blood, scarlet stains on the headstones, green grass changed 
to crimson ; marble slabs shivered ; the ground ploughed by 
solid shot, holes blown out by bursting shells ; dead men lying 
where they had fallen, wounded men creeping to the rear ; 
cries and groans all around me ! Fifty shells a minute had 
fallen upon that small enclosure. Not for a moment was there 
thought of abandoning the position. How those batteries of 
Osborne and Wainwright, of the Eleventh and First Corps, had 
lightened and thundered ! There were scores of dead by the 
small house where the left of the Rebel line advanced, lying 
just as they were smitten down, as if a thunderbolt had fallen 
upon the once living mass ! 

An English officer, who saw the battle from the Rebel lines, 
thus says of the repulse : — 

"I soon began to meet many wounded men returning from the front; 
many of them asked in piteous tones the way to a doctor, or an ambu- 
lance. The further I got the greater became the number of the wound- 
ed. At last I came to a perfect stream of them flocking through the 
woods in numbers as great as the crowd in Oxford Street in the middle 

of the day They were still under a heavy fire ; the shells were 

continually bringing down great limbs of trees, and carrying further 
destruction amongst their melancholy procession. I saw all this in 
much less time than it takes to write it, and although astonished to 
meet such a vast number of wounded, I had not seen enough to give 
me an idea of the real extent of the mischief. 






298 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [J^^lj? 

" When I got close up to General Longstreet, I saw one of his regi- 
ments advancing through the woods in good order ; so, thinking I was 
just in time to see the attack, T remarked to the General that ' I 
would n't have missed this for anything.' Longstreet was seated on 
the top of a snake-fence, in the edge of the wood, and looking per- 
fectly calm and unperturbed. He replied, ' The devil you would n't ! 
I would like to have missed it very much ; we 've attacked and been 
repulsed. Look there ! ' 

" For the first time I then had a view of the open space between the 
two positions, and saw it covered with Confederates slowly and sulkily 
returning towards us in small broken parties 

" I remember seeing a general (Pettigrew I think it was) come up 
to him and report that he was unable to bring his men up again. Long- 
street turned upon him and replied with some sarcasm : ' Very well, — 
never mind, then. General ; just let them remain where they are. The 
enemy is going to advance, and will spare you the trouble.' .... 

" Soon afterward I joined General Lee, who had in the mean while 
come to the front, on becoming aware of the disaster. He was engaged 
in rallying and in encouraging the troops, and was riding about a little 
in front of the woods quite alone, the whole of his staff being engaged 
in a similar manner fuither to the rear. His face, which is always 
placid and cheerful, did not show signs of the slightest disappointment, 
care, or annoyance ; and he was addressing to every soldier he met a 
few words of encouragement, such as, ' All ihis will come right in the 
end ; we will talk it over afterwards, — but in the mean time all good 
men must rally. We want all good men and true men just now,' &c. 
.... He said to me, ' This has been a sad day for us. Colonel, — a sad 
day ; but we can't expect always to gain victories.' .... I saw General 
Wilcox (an officer who wears a short round jacket and a battered straw 
hat) come up to him, and explain, almost crying, the state of his 
brigade. General Lee immediately shook hands with him, and said, 
cheerfully, 'Never mind, General. All this has been my fault, — it is 
I that have lost this fight, and you must help me out of it in the best 
way you can.' "* 

It was past eleven o'clock in the evening when I rode np 
from the gory field, over the ridge, where the Second Corps 
had stood like a wall of adamant. Meade's head-quarters were 
in a grove, east of tlie small house where he established himself 
at the beginning of the battle. The fire had been too hot at 
Mrs. Leister's. Meade was sitting on a great flat boulder, 

* Blackwood's Magazine, September, 1863. — Lieutenant-Colonel Preemantle. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 299 

listening to the reports of his officers, brought in by cou- 
riers. It was a scene which lives in memory : a dark forest, 
— the evening breeze gently rustling the green leaves over 
our heads, — the katydids and locusts singing cheerily, — the 
bivouac fires glimmering on the ground, revealing the sur- 
rounding objects, — the gnarled trees, torn by cannon-shot, — 
the mossy stones, — the group of officers, — Williams, Warren, 
Howard (his right sleeve wanting an arm), Pleasanton, as trim 
as in the morning ; Meade stooping, weary, his slouched hat 
laid aside, so that the breeze might fan his brow. 

" Bully ! bully ! bully all round ! " said he ; and then turn- 
ing to his chief of staff, Humphrey, said, " Order up rations 
and ammunition." 

To General Hunt, chief of artillery, " Have your limbers 
filled. Lee may be up to something in the morning, and we 
must be ready for him." 

A band came up and played " Hail to the Chief! " the " Star- 
spangled Banner," and " Yankee Doodle." Soul-stirring the 
strains. The soldiers, lying on their arms, where they had 
fought, heard it, and responded with a cheer. Not all : for 
thousands were deaf and inanimate evermore. 

No accurate statement of the number engaged in this great, 
decisive battle of the war can ever be given. Meade's march 
to Gettysburg was made with great rapidity. The Provost 
Marshal of the army, General Patrick, committed the great 
error of having no rear guard to bring up the stragglers, which 
were left behind in thousands, and who found it much more 
convenient to live on the excellent fare furnished by the farm- 
ers than to face the enemy. Meade's entire force on the field 
numbered probably from sixty to seventy thousand. The Rebel 
army had made slower marches, and the soldiers could not 
straggle ; they were in an enemy's country. Lee, therefore,- 
had fuller ranks than Meade. His force may be estimated at 
ninety thousand men. 

The people of the North expressed their gratitude to the 
heroes who had won this battle, by pouring out their contribu- 
tions for the relief of the wounded. The agents of the Chris- 
tian and Sanitary Commissions were quickly on the ground, 
and hundreds of warm-hearted men and women hastened to 



300 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [J^ly? 

the spot to render aid. The morning after the battle I saw a 
stout Pennsylvania farmer driving his two-horse farm wagon 
up the Baltimore pike, loaded down with loaves of soft bread 
which his wife and daughters had baked. 

Tender and affecting are some of the incidents of the battle- 
field. A delegate of the Christian Commission passing among 
the wounded, came to an officer from South Carolina. 

" Can I do anything for you ? " he asked. 

" No ! " was the surly reply. 

He passed on, but upon his return repeated the question, 
and received the same answer. The day was hot, the air offen- 
sive, from putrefying wounds, and the delegate was putting 
cologne on the handkerchiefs of the patients. 

" Colonel, let me put some of this on your handkerchief." 

The wounded man burst into tears. " I have no hand- 
kerchief." 

" Well, you shall have one " ; and wetting his own gave it 
to him. 

" I can't understand you Yankees," said the Colonel. " You 
fight us like devils, and then you treat us like angels. I am 
sorry I entered this war." * 

Said another Rebel, — an Irishman, — to a chaplain who 
took care of him, " May every hair of your head be a wax-taper 
to light you on your way to glory ! " f 

A chaplain passing through the hospital, came to a cot where 
lay a young wounded soldier who had fought for the Union. 

" Poor fellow ! " said the chaplain. 

" Don't call me ' poor fellow ! ' " was the indignant reply. 

" Dear fellow, then. Have you written -to your mother since 
the battle ? " 

" No, sir ! " 

" You ought to. Here it is the tenth, — a whole week since 
the battle. She will be anxious to hear from you." 

The lad with his left hand threw aside the sheet which cov- 
ered him, and the chaplain saw that his right arm was off near 
the shoulder. 

" That is the reason, sir, that I have not written. I have 

* Address before Alumni of Williams College, 1865. Charles Demond. 
t Ibid. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSB^G. 301 

not forgotten her, sir. I have prayed for her, and I thank God 
for gmng me so dear a mother." 

Then turning aside the sheet farther, the chaplain saw that 
his left leg was gone. Sitting down beside the yonng hero the 
chaplain wrote as he dictated. 

" Tell mother that I have given my riglit arm and my left 
leg to my country, and that I am ready to give both of my 
other limbs ! " said he.* 

The courage and patriotism of Spartan mothers is immortal- 
ized in story and song. " Return with your shield, or upon 
it," has been held up for admiration through three thousand 
years. The Greek fire is not extinguished ; it burns to-day as 
bright and pure as ever at Salamis or Marathon. 

Riding in the cars through the State of New York after the 
battle of Gettysburg, I fell in conversation with a middle-aged 
woman who had two sons in the army. 

" Have they been in battle ? " I asked. 

" Yes, sir ; one has been in fifteen battles. He was taken 
prisoner at Chancellorsville and was wounded at Gettysburg. 
The other is in the Medical Department." 

" The one who was wounded at Gettysburg must have seen 
some hard fighting." 

" Yes, sir ; and I hear a good account of him from his cap- 
tain. He says my son behaves well. I told him, when he went 
away, that I ivould rather hear he was dead than that he had dis- 
graced himself.''^ 

" His time must be nearly out." 

" Yes, sir, it is ; but he is going to see it through, and has 
re-enlisted. I should like to have him at home, but I know he 
would be uneasy. His comrades have re-enlisted, and he is 
not the boy to back out. I rather want him to help give the 
crushing blow." 

There were thousands of such mothers in the land. 

Lee retreated the morning after the battle. His reasons for 
a retrograde movement are thus stated by himself : — 

" Owing to the strength of the enemy's position and the reduction of 
our ammunition, a renewal of the engagement could not be hazarded, 

* Eev. Mr. Auley, meeting Christian Association, Chicago. 



« i. 



302 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [July, 

and the difficulty of procuring supplies rendered it impossible to con- 
tinue longer where we were. Such of the wounded as wei-e in con- 
dition to be removed, and part of the arms collected on the field, were 
ordered to Williamsport. The army remained at Gettysburg during 
the 4th, and at night began to retire by the road to Fairfield, carrying 
with it about four thousand prisoners. Nearly two thousand had pre- 
viously been paroled, but the enemy's numerous wounded, that had 
fallen into our hands after the first and second day's engagements, were 
left behind." * 

Meade made no attempt to follow him with his main army, 
but marched directly down the Emmettsburg road, once more 
to Frederick, then west over South Mountain to intercept him 
on the Potomac. Meade had the inside of the chess-board. 
He was a victor. The men who had made a forced march to 
Gettysburg were awake to the exigency of the hour, and made 
a quick march back to Frederick, and over the mountains to 
Boonsboro'. A severe storm set in, and the roads were almost 
impassable, but the men toiled on through the mire, lifting the 
cannon-wheels from the deep ruts, when the horses were unable 
to drag the ordnance, singing songs as they marched foot-sore 
and weary, but buoyant over the great victory. 

And now, as the intelligence came that Grant had taken 
Vicksburg, that Banks was in possession of Port Hudson, and 
that the Mississippi was flowing " unvexed to the sea," they 
forgot all their toils, hardships, and sufferings, and made the 
air ring with their lusty cheers. They could see the dawn of 
peace, — peace won by the sword. The women of Maryland 
hailed them as their deliverers, brought out the best stores 
from their pantries and gave freely, refusing compensation. 

Meade left all his superfluous baggage behind, and moved in 
light marching order. Lee was encumbered by his wounded, 
and by his trains, and when he reached Hagerstown found 
that Meade was descending the mountain side, and that Gregg 
was already in Boonsboro'. 

Reinforcements were sent to Meade from Washington, with 
the expectation that by concentration of all available forces, 
Lee's army might be wholly destroyed. The elements, which 
had often retarded operations of the Union troops, — which had 

* Lee's Report. 



1863.] " THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 303 

rendered Burnside's and Hooker's movements abortive in sev- 
eral instances, now were propitious. The Potomac was rising, 
and the rain was still falling. On tlie morning of the 13tli I 
rode to General Meade's head-quarters. General Seth Wil- 
liams, the ever-courteous Adjutant-General of the army, was 
in General Meade's tent. He said that Meade was taking a 
look at the Rebels. 

" Do you think that Lee can get across the Potomac ? " I 
asked. 

" Impossible ! The people resident here say that it cannot 
be forded at this stage of the water. He has no pontoons. 
We have got him in a tight place. We shall have reinforce- 
ments to-morrow, and a great battle will be fought. Lee is 
encumbered with his teams, and he is short of ammunition." 

General Meade came in dripping with rain, from a recon- 
noissance. His countenance was unusually animated. He had 
ever been courteous to me, and while usually very reticent of 
all his intentions or of what was going on, as an officer should 
be, yet in this instance he broke over his habitual silence, and 
said, " We shall have a great battle to-morrow. The rein- 
forcements are coming up, and as soon as they come we shall 
pitch in." 

I rode along the lines with Howard in the afternoon. The 
Rebels were in sight. The pickets were firing at each other. 
There was some movement of columns. 

" I fear that Lee is getting away," said Howard. 

He sent an aide to Meade, with a request that he might 
attack. 

" I can double them up," he said, meaning that, as he was 
on Lee's flank, he could strike an effective blow. 

Kilpatrick was beyond Howard, well up towards Williams- 
port. "Lee is getting across the river, I think," said through 
a messenger. 

It was nearly night. The attack was to be made early in the 
morning. 

The morning dawned and Lee was south of the Potomac. 
That officer says : — 

" The army, after an arduous march, rendered more difficult by the 
rains, reached Hagerstown on the after noon of the Gth and morning of 
the 7th July. 



304 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Julj, 

" The Potomac was found to be so much swollen by the rains that 
had fallen almost incessantly since our entrance into Maryland, as to be 
unfordable. Our communications with the south side were thus inter- 
rupted, and it was difficult to procure either ammunition or subsistence, 
the latter difficulty being enhanced by the high waters impeding the 
working of the neighboring mills. The trains with the wounded and 
prisoners were compelled to await at Williamsport the subsiding of the 
river and the construction of boats, as the pontoon bridge, left at Fall- 
ing Waters, had been partially destroyed. The enemy had not yet 
made his appearance ; but, as he was in condition to obtain large rein- 
forcements, and our situation, for the reasons above mentioned, was 
becoming daily mbre embarrassing, it was deemed advisable to recross 
the river. Part of the pontoon bridge was recovered, and new boats 
built, so that by the 13th a good bridge was thrown over the river at 
Falling Waters. 

" The enemy in force reached our front on the 1 2th. A position had 
been previously selected to cover the Potomac from Williamsport to 
Falling Waters, and an attack was awaited during that and the succeed 
ing day. This did not take place, though the two armies were in close 
proximity, the enemy being occupied in fortifying his own lines. Our 
preparations being completed, and the river, though still deep, being 
pronounced fordable, the army commenced to withdraw to the south 
side on the night of the 13th. 

" E well's corps forded the river at Williamsport, those of Longstreet 
and Hill crossed upon the bridge. Owing to the condition of the roads, 
the troops did not reach the bridge until after daylight of the 14th, and 
the crossing was not completed until 1 P. M., when the bridge was 
removed. The enemy offered no serious interruption, and the move- 
ment was attended with no loss of material except a few disabled wag- 
ons and two pieces of artillery, which the horses were unable to move 
through the deep mud. Before fresh horses could be sent back for 
them, the rear of the column had passed."* 

Kilpatrick was astir at daybreak ; he moved into Williams- 
port. I accompanied his column. The Rebels were on the 
Virginia hills, jubilant at their escape. There were wagons in 
the river, floating down with the current, which had been cap- 
sized in the crossing. Kilpatrick pushed on to Falling Waters, 
fell upon Pettigrew's brigade, guarding the pontoons, captured 
two cannon and.eight hundred men, in one of the most daring 

* Lee's Eeport. 



1863.] THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 305 

dashes of the war. It was poor satisfaction, however, when 
contrasted with what might have been done. Tlio army was 
chagrined. Loud were the denunciations of Meade. 

" Another campaign on the Rappahannock, boys," said one 
officer in my hearing. 

" We shall be in our old quarters in a few days," said 
another. 

General Meade has been severely censured for not attacking 
on the 13th. Lee had lost thirty thousand men. He had 
suffered a crushing defeat at Gettysburg. Enthusiasm had 
died out. His soldiers were less confident than they had been. 
His ammunition was nearly exhausted. He was in a critical 
situation. 

Those were reasons why he should be attacked ; but there 
were also reasons, which to Meade were conclusive, that the 
attack should not be made till the 14th : the swollen river, — 
the belief that Lee had no means of crossing the Potomac, — 
and the expected reinforcements. The delay was not from lack 
of spirit or over caution ; but with the expectation of striking a 
blow which would destroy the Rebel army. 

Lee went up the valley, while Meade pushed rapidly down 
the base of the Blue Ridge to Culpepper. But he was not in 
condition to take the offensive, so far from his base ; and the 
two armies sat down upon the banks of the Rapidan, to rest 
after the bloody campaign. 



20 



'606 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Maj, 



CHAPTER XIX. 

FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 

There are few months in the calendar of centuries that will 
have a more conspicuous place in history than the month of 
May, 1864. It will be remembered on account of the moment- 
ous events which took place in one of the greatest military 
campaigns of history. We are amazed, not by its magnitude 
merely, for there have been larger armies, heavier trains of 
artillery, greater preparations, in European warfare, — but by a 
succession of events unparalleled for rapidity. We cannot fully 
comprehend the amount of endurance, the persistency, tlie hard 
marching, the harder fighting, the unwearied, cheerful energy 
and effort which carried the Army of the Potomac from the 
Rappahannock to the James in forty days, against the stubborn 
opposition of an army of almost equal immbers. There was 
not a day of rest, — scarcely an hour of quiet. Morning, noon, 
and midnight, the booming of cannon and the rattling of mus- 
ketry echoed unceasingly through the Wilderness, around the 
hillocks of Spottsylvania, along the banks of the North Anna, 
and among the groves of Bethesda Church and Cold Harbor. 

There were individual acts of valor, as heroic and soul-stirring 
as those of the old Cavaliers renowned in story and song, where 
all the energies of life were centred in one moment. There 
was the spirited advance of regiments, the onset of brigades, 
and the resistless charges of divisions, — scenes which stir the 
blood and fire the soul ; the hardihood, the endurance, the 
cool, collected, reserved force, abiding the time, the calm facing 
of death ; the swift advance, the rush, the plunge into the 
thickest of the fight, where hundreds of cannon, where fifty 
thousand muskets, filled the air with iron hail and leaden rain. 

The army wintered between the Rappahannock and the 
Rapidan. There had been a reduction and reconstruction of 
its corps, — an incorporation of the First and Third with the 



1864. J FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 307 

Fifth and Sixth, with reinforcements added to the Second. 
The Second was commanded by Major-General Hancock, the 
Fifth by Major-General Warren, the Sixth by Major-General 
Sedgwick. 

These three corps, with three divisions of cavalry commanded 
by General Sheridan, composed the Army of the Potomac, com- 
manded by Major-General Meade. The Ninth Corps, com- 
manded by Major-General Burnside, was added when the army 
took up its line of march. 

Lee was behind Mine Run, with his head-quarters at Orange 
Court-House, covering the advance to Richmond from that 
direction. 

There was concentration everywhere. General Gillmore, 
with what troops could be spared from the Department of the 
South, joined his forces to those on the Peninsula and at Suffolk 
under General Butler ; Sigel commanded several thousand in 
the Shenandoah ; Crook and Averell had a small army in West- 
ern Virginia ; at Chattanooga, under Sherman and Thomas, 
was gathered a large army of Western troops ; while Banks 
was up the Red River, moving towards Shreveport. 

The dramatis personce were known to the public, but the part 
assigned to each was kept profoundly secret. There was dis- 
cussion and speculation whether Burnside, from his encamp- 
ment at Annapolis, would suddenly take transports and go to 
Wilmington, or up the Rappahannock, or the James, or the 
York. Would Meade move directly across the Rapidan and 
attack Lee in front, with every passage, every hill and ravine 
enfiladed by Rebel cannon ? Or would he move his right flank 
along the Blue Ridge, crowding Lee to the seaboard ? Would 
he not make, rather, a sudden change of base to Fredericks- 
burg ? None of the wise men, military or civil, in their spec- 
ulations, indicated the line which General Grant adopted. The 
public accepted the disaster at Chancellorsville and the failure 
at Mine Run as conclusive evidence that a successful advance 
across the Rapidan by the middle fords was impossible, or at 
least improbable. So well was the secret kept, that, aside from 
the corps commanders, none in or out of the army, except the 
President and Secretary of War, had information of the line of 
march intended. 



308 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. O'^^J, 

General Grant had a grand plan, — not merely for the Army 
of the Potomac, but for all of the armies in the Union service. 

Banks was to take Shreveport, then sail rapidly down the 
Mississippi and move upon Mobile, accompanied by the naval 
force under Farragut. Sherman was to push Johnston from 
his position near Chattanooga. If Banks succeeded at Mobile, 
he was to move up to Montgomery and co-operate with Sherman. 
Such a movement would compel the Rebel General Johnston to 
retire from Atlanta. It would sever Alabama and Mississippi 
from the other States of the Confederacy. 

Butler was to move up the James and seize Richmond, or 
cut the railroads south of the Appomattox. Sigel was to pass 
up the Shenandoah, while the troops in Western Virginia were 
to sever the railroad leadhig to East Tennessee. 

The Army of the Potomac was to move upon Richmond, — 
or rather upon Lee's army. The policy of General Grant — the 
idea upon which he opened and conducted the campaign — must 
be fully comprehended before the events can be clearly under- 
stood. 

That idea is thus expressed in General Grant's official re- 
port : — 

" From an early period in the Rebellion I had been impressed with 
the idea that active and continuous operations of all the troops that 
could be brought into the field, regardless of season and weather, were 
necessary to a speedy termination of the war. The resources of the 
enemy, and his numerical strength, were far inferior to ours ; but as an 
offset to this, we had a vast territory, with a population hostile to the 
government, to garrison, and long lines of river and railroad communi 
cations to protect, to enable us to supply the operating armies. 

" The armies in the East and West acted independently and without 
concert, like a balky team, no two ever pulling together, enabling the 
enemy to use to great advantage his interior lines of communication for 
transporting troops from east to west, reinforcing the army most vigor- 
ously pressed, and to furlough large numbers during seasons of inac- 
tivity on our part, to go to their homes, and do. the work of producing 
for the support of their armies. It was a question whether our numer- 
ical strength and resources were not more than balanced by these disad- 
vantages and the enemy's superior position. 

" From the first, I was firm in the conviction that no peace could be 
had that would be stable and conducive to the happiness of the people, 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 809 

both North and South, until the military power of the rebellion was 
entirely broken. 

" I therefore determined, first, to use the greatest number of troops 
practicable against the armed force of the enemy ; preventing him from 
using the same force at different seasons against first one and then 
another of our armies, and the possibility of repose for refitting and 
producing necessary supplies for carrying on resistance. Second, to 
hammer continuously against the armed force of the enemy and his 
resources, until, by mere attrition, if in no other way, there should be 
nothing left to him but an equal submission with the loyal section of 
our common country, to the Constitution and laws of the land." 

The Army of the Potomac had no easy task to perform. 
Lee had the advantage of position. The Rapidan was his line. 
He had improved his old earthworks and thrown up new ones. 
His cannon covered the fords. His army was as large as when 
he invaded Pennsylvania. Grant must cross the Rapidan at 
some point. To attempt and fail would be disastrous. It was 
easy to say, Push on ! but it was far different to meet the storm 
of leaden hail, — far different to see a line waver, break, and 
scatter to the rear, with utter loss of heart. Those were con- 
tingencies and possibilities to be taken into account. 

It was no light affair to supply an army of one hundred and 
fifty thousand men, over a single line of railway, — to accu- 
mulate supplies in advance of the movement, — to cut loose 
from his base of operations, and open a new base as occasion 
should call. Every mile of advance increased Grant's diffi- 
culty, while every mile of retrograde movement carried Lee 
nearer to his base of operations. 

All the speculations in regard to Burnside's destination fell 
to the ground when, on the 25th of April, the Ninth Corps 
passed through Washington, and moved into Virginia. It was 
a sublime spectacle. The Ninth Corps achieved almost the 
first successes of the war in North Carolina. It had hastened 
to the Potomac in time to aid in rescuing the capital when Lee 
made his first Northern invasion. It won glory at South Moun- 
tain, and made the narrow bridge of Antietam forever historic. 
It had reached Kentucky in season to aid in driving the Rebels 
firom that State, and now, with recruited ranks, — with new 
regiments of as good blood as ever was poured out in the cause 



310 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

of right, with a new element which was to make for itself a 
name never again to be despised, the corps was marching 
through the capital of the nation, passing in review before 
Abraham Lincoln. The corps marched down Fourteenth Street 
past Willard's Hotel, where upon the balcony stood the Presi- 
dent and General Burnside. Behold the scene ! Platoons, 
companies, battalions, regiments, brigades, and divisions. The 
men are bronzed by the rays of a Southern sun, and by the 
March winds. ThQ bright sunshine gleams from their bay- 
onets ; above them wave their standards, tattered by the 
winds, torn by cannon-ball and rifle-shot, — stained with the 
blood of dying heroes. They are priceless treasures, more 
beloved than houses, land, riches, honor, ease, comfort, wife 
or children. Ask them what is most dear of all earthly things, 
there will be but one answer, — " The flag ! the dear old flag! " 
It is their pillar of fire by night, of cloud by day, — the sym- 
bol of everything worth living for, worth dying for ! 

Their banners bear the names of Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, 
Roanoke, Newburn, Gains's Mills, Mechanicsville, Seven Pines, 
Savage Station, Glendale, Malvern, Fredericksburg, Chancel- 
orsville, Antietam, South Mountain, Knoxville, Vicksburg, 
Port Hudson, Gettysburg, inscribed in golden characters. 

The people of Washington have turned out to see them. 
Senators have left tlieir Chamber, and the House of Represen- 
tatives has taken a recess to gaze upon the defenders of their 
country, as they pass through the city, — many of them, alas ! 
never to return. 

There is the steady tramping of the thousands, — the deep, 
heavy jar of the gun-carriages, — the clattering of hoofs, the 
clanking of sabres, the drum-beat, the bugle-call, and the music 
of the bands. Pavement, sidewalk, windows, and roofs are 
occupied by the people. A division of veterans pass, saluting 
the President and their commander with cheers. And now 
with full ranks, platoons extending from sidewalk to sidewalk, 
are brigades which never have been in battle, for the first time 
shouldering arms for their country ; who till a year ago never 
had a country, who even now are not American citizens, who 
are disfranchised, — yet they are going out to fight for the 
flag ! Their country was given them by tlie tall, pale, benevo- 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 311 

leiit-hearted man standing upon the balcony. For the first 
time they behold their benefactor. They are darker lined than 
their veteran comrades ; but they can cheer as lustily, " Hur- 
rah! Hurrah!" "Hurrah for Massa Linkum ! " "Three 
cheers for the President ! " They swing their caps, clap their 
hands, and shout their joy. Long, loud, and jubilant are the 
rejoicings of those redeemed sons of Africa. Regiment after 
regiment of stalwart men, — slaves once, but freemen now, — 
with steady step and even rank, pass down the street, moving 
on to the Old Dominion. 

It was the first review of colored troops by the President. 
He gave them freedom, he recognized them as soldiers. Their 
brethren in arms of the same complexion had been murdered 
in cold blood, after surrender, at Fort Pillow and at Plymouth. 
And such would be their fate should they by chance become 
prisoners of war. 

"The time had come for the great movement. 

On Tuesday afternoon. May 3d, the cavalry broke camp on 
the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, and moved eastward, — 
General Gregg's division towards Ely's Ford, and General Wil- 
son's division towards Germanna Ford, each having pontoons. 
At midnight the Second Corps, which had been encamped east 
of Culpepper, followed General Gregg. At daylight on the 
morning of the 4th of May, the Fifth and Sixth Corps and the 
reserve artillery were moving towards Germanna Ford. The 
supply-train — four thousand wagons — followed the Second 
Corps. There were but these two available roads. 

The enemy was at Orange Court-House, watching, from his 
elevated lookout on Clark's Mountain, for the first sign of 
change in the Union camp. In the light of the early dawn he 
saw that the encampments at Culpepper were broken up, while 
the dust-cloud hanging over the forest toward the east was the 
sure indication of the movement. 

General Lee put his army in instant motion to strike the 
advancing columns as they crossed the Rapidan. The move- 
ment of Grant was southeast, that of Lee northeast, — lines of 
advance which must produce collision, unless Grant was far 
enough forward to slip by the angle. There is reason to believe 
that General Grant did not intend to fidit Lee at Wilderness, 



312 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

but that it was his design to slip past that point and swing 
round by Spottsylvania, and, if possible,' get between Lee and 
Richmond. He boldly cut loose his connection with Washing- 
ton, and plunged into the Wilderness, relying upon the ability 
of his soldiers to open a new base for supplies whenever needed. 

In this first day's movement he did not uncover Washington. 
Burnside was still lying on the north bank of the Rappahan- 
nock. It was understood in the army that the Ninth Corps 
was to be a reserve to protect the capital. So, perhaps, Lee 
understood it. But at nightfall, on the 4th, the shelter-tents 
were folded, and the men of the Ninth, with six days' rations 
in their haversacks, were on the march along the forest-road, 
lighted only by the stars, joining the main army at Germanna 
Ford on the morning of the 5th. 

The movement from the Rapidan to Cold Harbor was made 
in thirty days. It was a series of movements by the left flank, 
in part to §et between Lee and his southern communications, 
and in part to force him to abandon strong positions. 

The movements were : — 

Prom Culpepper to Wilderness. 

From Wilderness to Spottsylvania. 

From Spottsylvania to the North Anna. 

From the North Anna to Cold Harbor. 

From Cold Harbor to Petersburg. 

It was thirty days of continuous marching, or fighting, build- 
ing defences and bridges, opening roads, establishing new bases 
of supplies, through a country densely wooded, and crossing 
four large rivers, besides numerous smaller streams, to find 
always the enemy upon the other side, prepared to give des- 
perate battle. 

It was early in the morning on tlie 4th of May when the 
reveille sounded for the last time over the hills and dales of 
Culpepper. The last cups of coffee were drunk, the blankets 
folded, and then the army, which through the winter had lain 
in camp, moved away from the log huts, where many a jest had 
been spoken, many a story told, — where, through rain and 
mud, and heat and cold, the faithful and true-hearted men had 
kept watch and ward through the long, weary months, — where 
songs of praise and prayer to God had been raised by thousands 
who looked beyond the present into the future life. 



1864.] FEOM THE EAPIDAN TO COLD HARBO^t. 313 

So rapid was the march that the Second Corps reached Chan- 
cellorsville before night, having crossed the Rapidan at Ely's 
Ford. The Sixth and Fifth Corps crossed at Germanna Ford, 
witliout opposition, and before night the Army of the Potomac 
was upon the southern side of that stream, where it was joined 
by tlie Ninth Corps the next morning. 

General Grant's quarters for the night were in an old house 
near the ford. Lights were to be put out at nine o'clock. 
There were the usual scenes of a bivouac, and one unusual to 
an army. - The last beams of daylight were fading in the west. 
The drummers were beating the tattoo. Mingled with the con- 
stant rumbling of the wagons across the pontoons, and the un- 
ceasing flow of the river, was a chorus of voices, — a brigade 
singing a hymn of devotion. It was ^the grand old choral of 
Luther, Old Hundred. 

" Eternal are thy mercies, Lord, 
Eternal truth attends thy word ; 
Thy praise shall sound from shore to shore, 
Till suns shall rise and set no more." • 

Many soldiers in that army were thinking of home, — not 
only of loved ones, and of associations full of sweet and tender 
memories, but of a better abiding-place, eternal in the heavens. 
To thousands it was a last night on earth. 

Early in the morning of the 5th Generals Meade and Grant, 
with their staffs, after riding five miles from Germanna Ford, 
halted near an old mill in the Wilderness. General Sheridan's 
cavalry had been pushing out south and west. Aides came 
back with despatches. 

" They say that Lee intends to fight us here," said General 
Meade, as he read them. 

" Very well," was the quiet reply of General Grant. 

The two commanders retire a little from the crowd, and stand 
by the roadside in earnest conversation. Grant is of medium 
stature, yet has a well-developed physique, sandy whiskers and 
moustache, blue eyes, earnest, thoughtful, and far-seeing, a 
cigar in his mouth, a knife in one hand, and a stick in the 
other, which he is whittling to a point. He whittles slowly 
towards him. His thoughts are not yet crystallized. His 
words are few. Suddenly he commences upon the other end 



314 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

of the stick, and whittles energetically from him. And now 
he is less reticent, — talks freely. He is dressed in plain blue ; 
and were it not for the three stars upon his shoulder, few 
would select him as the Lieutenant-General commanding all 
the armies of the Union in the field. 

Meade is tall, thin, a little stooping in the shoulders, quick, 
comprehending the situation of affkirs in an instant, energetic, 
— an offioer of excellent executive ability. 

Years ago, a turnpike was built from Fredericksburg to 
Orange Court-House ; but in the days when there was a mania 
for plank roads, another corporation constructed a plank road 
between the same places. A branch plank road, commencing 
two miles west of ChanceJlorsville, crosses the Rapidan at 
Germanna Ford, rurUiing to Stevensburg, north of that stream. 
The turnpike runs nearly east and west, while the Stevensburg 
plank road runs northwest. General Grant has established his 
head-quarters at the crossing of the turnpike and the Stevens- 
burg road, his flag waving from a knoll west of the road. A 
mile and a half out on the turnpike, on a ridge, is Parker's 
store, where, early in the morning, I saw long lines of Rebel 
infantry, the sunlight gleaming from bayonet and gun-barrel. 

Before the contest begins, let us go up to the old Wilderness 
tavern, wliich stands on the Stevensburg plank road, and take 
a view of a portion of the battle-field. It Yrill be a limited view, 
for there are few open spaces in the Wilderness. 

From the tavern you look west. At your feet is a brook, 
flowing from the southwest, and another small stream from the 
northwest, joming their waters at the crossing of the turnpike 
and the plank road. The turnpike rises over a ridge between 
the two streams. On the south slope is the house of Major 
Lacy, owner of a house at Falmouth, used by our soldiers after 
.the battle of Fredericksburg. It is a beautiful view, — a smooth 
ilawn in front of the house, meadows green with the verdure of 
spring ; beyond the meadows are hills thickly wooded, — tall 
oaks, and pine and cedar thickets.* On the right hand side of 
the turnpike the ridge is more broken, and also thickly set with 
gmall trees and bushes. A mile and a half out from the cross- 
ing of the two roads the ridge breaks down into a ravine. 
General Le»e has possession of the western bank. Grant the 



1864.] FROM THE EAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 315 

eastern. It is such a mixture of woods, underbrush, thickets, 
ravines, hills, hollows, and knolls, that one is bewildered in 
passing through it, and to attempt to describe would be a com- 
plete bewilderment to writer and reader. 

But General Grant has been compelled to make this ridge 
his right line of battle. He must protect his trains, which are 
still coming in on the Germanna road. 

The Sixth Corps, commanded by General Sedgwick, holds 
the right, covering the road to Germanna Ford. The left of 
the Third Division reaches the turnpike, where it connects 
with the Fifth Corps, Warren's. Before the arrival of Burn- 
side's force, one division of the Fifth is placed in position 
south of the turnpike. Now leaving a wide gap, you walk 
through the woods towards the southeast, and two miles from 
head-quarters you find the Second Corps, under Hancock, a 
long line of men in the thick forest, on both sides of the 
Orange plank road. 

The forenoon of the 5th instant was devoted to taking posi- 
tions. Engineers rode over the ground and examined the 
character of the country. A small party pushed out to Par- 
ker's store, but encountered a Rebel column advancing ; but 
the knowledge thus obtained of the ground in that direction 
was of great value. 

Word was sent to General Hancock, who had orders to move 
in direction of Spottsylvania ; that Lee was taking positions. 
He hastened to make connection with the other corps. Had he 
not moved rapidly, Lee would have obtained possession of the 
fork of the two plank roads, the Stevensburg and the Orange 
road, which would have been a serious mishap. The Rebel 
advance was not more than a mile distant when Hancock 
secured it. No sooner had the pickets been thrown out, than 
the rattling of musketry commenced all along the line. About 
four in tlie afternoon, each commander began to feel the po- 
sition of the other by advancing brigades on the right, left, and 
centre. An exchange of a few volleys would seemingly satisfy 
the parties. 

It had been the practice of General Lee to begin and close a 
day with a grand fusilade. In this battle he adhered to his 
former tactics, by advancing a heavy force upon our right, and 



316 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

then, when the contest was at its height in that direction, 
attacked on the left. The rolls of musketry were very heavy 
and continuous for an hour. There was but little opportu- 
nity to charge bayonet. It was a close contest in a thick 
wood, on land which years ago was turned by the plough, but 
which, having by thriftless culture incident to the existence of 
servile labor, been worn out, now bears the smallest oaks, 
hazels, sassafras, and briers. 

Hostilities ceased at night. Each commander learned enough 
of the other's operations to make dispositions for the following 
day. Grant had no alterations to make. Lee had forced him 
to accept battle there, and he must do the best he could. Long- 
street arrived in the night, and was placed against Hancock, on 
the Rebel right, or rather on the right centre, overlapping the 
Second and coming against a portion of the Ninth Corps, which 
was assigned to the left centre. Thus these two corps and their 
two commanders met again in deadly conflict, having fought at 
the first and second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, and 
Knoxville. 

General Alexis Hays, in the front line, findhig that he was 
outnumbered, sent word to Hancock that he must have rein- 
forcements. 

" Tell him," said Hancock to the aide, " that he shall have a 
fresh brigade in twenty minutes." 

Twenty minutes ! An age to those who see their comrades 
falling, — their lines growing thinner. Before the time had 
expired. General Hays was carried back a corpse ; but though 
the brave man had fallen, the troops held their ground. 

Night closed over the scene. Everybody knew that the con- 
test would be renewed in the morning. Lee began the attack 
on the 5th, falling like a thunderbolt on the flank of Grant, but 
made no impression on the Union lines, — not moving them 
an inch from their chosen positions. 

Grant resolved to take the initiative on the morning of the 
6th, and orders were accordingly issued for a general attack at 
daybreak. 

Sedgwick was to commence on the right at five o'clock, but 
Lee saved him the trouble. A. P. Hill forestalled the move- 
ment by advancing at half past four. The Rebel batteries by 



1864.] 



FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 



317 



Parker's store sent a half-dozen shots into the Union lines as a 
signal for the beginning of the contest. ' Then came a slight 
ripple of musketry, then a roll, — long, deep, heavy, — and the 
crash, — indescribable, fearful to hear, terrible to think of. 
Fifty thousand muskets were flashing, with occasional cannon- 
shots, mingled with shouts, cheers, and hurrahs from the Union 
lines, and yells like the war-whoop of Indians, — wild, savage 
howls from the depths of the tangled jungle. The sun rises 
upon a cloudless sky. The air becomes sultry. The blood of 
the combatants is at fever heat. There are bayonet-charges, 
surgings to and fro of the opposing lines, a meeting and com- 
mingling, like waves of the ocean, sudden upspringings from 
the underbrush of divisions stealthily advanced. There is a 
continuous rattle, with intervening rolls deepening into long, 
heavy swells, the crescendo and the diminuendo of a terrible 
symphony, rising to thunder-tones, to crash and roar inde- 
scribable. 

The Ninth Corps during the day was brought between the 
Fifth and Second. Divisions were moved to the right, to the 
left, and to the centre, during the two days' fight, but the po- 
sitions of the corps remained unchanged, and stood as repre- 
sented in the diagram. 




Through all those long hours of conflict there was patient 
endurance in front of the enemy. There were temporary sue- 



318 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

cesses and reverses on both sides. In only a single instance 
was there permanent advantage to Lee, and that he had not 
the power to improve. It was at the close of the contest on 
the 6th. The sun had gone down, and twilight was deepening 
into night. The wearied men of Rickett's division of the Sixth 
Corps, in the front line of battle on the right, had thrown them- 
selves upon the ground. Suddenly there was a rush upon their 
flank. There was musketry, blinding flashes from cannon, and 
explosions of shells. The line which had stood firmly through 
the day gave way, not because it was overpowered, but because 
it was surprised. General Seymour and a portion of -his brigade 
were taken prisoners. There was a partial panic, which soon 
subsided. The second line remained firm, the enemy was 
driven back, and the disaster repaired by swinging the Sixth 
Corps round to a new position, covered by the reserve artillery. 

On the morning of the 7th the pickets reported that Lee had 
fallen back. Reconnoitring parties said that he was throwing 
up entrenchments. Grant was thoughtful through the day. 
He said but little. He had a cigar in his mouth from morning 
till night. I saw him many times duriug the day, deeply 
absorbed in thought. He rode along the centre, and exam- 
ined the Rebel lines towards Parker's store. At times a shell 
or solid shot came from the Rebel batteries through the thick 
forest growth, but other than this there was but little fighting. 
Grant determined to make a push for Spottsylvania, and put 
his army between Lee and Richmond. By noon the trains 
were in motion, having been preceded by Sheridan with the 
cavalry, followed by the Ninth Corps, and then the Fifth on a 
parallel road. But Lee had the shortest line. He was on the 
alert, and there was a simultaneous movement of the Rebel 
army on a shorter line. 

The Second, Fifth, and Sixth Corps took the Block road, 
while the Ninth, with the trains, moved by Chancellorsville, 
over the battle-ground of the preceding summer, where tlie 
bones of those who fell in that struggle were bleaching un- 
buried in the summer air. 

It was eleven P. M. on Saturday evening. May 7th, when 
Generals Grant and Meade, accompanied by their cavalry es- 
corts, left the Wilderness head-quarters of General Hancock, 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 319 

for a ride to Todd's Tavern, a place of two or three houses, 
exhibiting the usual degree of thriftlessness which character- 
ized the Old Dominion. Twice durmg the ride we ran into the 
Rebel pickets, and were compelled to take by-paths through 
fields and thickets. General Grant rode at a break-neck speed. 
How exciting ! The sudden flashing of Rebel muskets in front, 
the whiz of the minnie projectile over our heads, the quick 
lialt and right about face, — our horses stumbling over fallen 
timl:)er and stumps, the clanking of sabres, the clattering of 
hoofs, the plunge into brambles, the tension of every nerve, the 
strain upon all the senses, the feeling of relief when we are 
once more in the road, and then the gallop along the narrow 
way, beneath the dark pines of the forest, till brought to a halt 
by tlie sudden challenge from our own sentinel ! It is a fast 
life that one leads at such a time. When the reaction sets in 
the system is as limp as a wilted cabbage-leaf, 

" Where are you going? " was the question of a cavalryman 
as we halted a moment. 

" To Spottsylvania." 

" I reckon you will have a scrimmage before you get there," 
said he. 

" Why ? " 

" Well, nothing in particular, except there are forty or fifty 
thousand Rebs in front of you. Sheridan has had a tough 
time of it, and I reckon there is more work to be done." 

We pushed on and reached Todd's at one o'clock on Sunday 
morning. The roads were full of cavalry, also tlie fields and 
woods. Sheridan had been fighting several hours, with Fitz 
Lee. The wounded were being brought in. Surgeons were 
at work. In the field, a short distance from the spot, the pickets 
were still firing shots. The Rebels were retiring, and Sheri- 
dan's men, having won the field, were throwing themselves upon 
the ground and dropping off" to sleep as unconcernedly as when 
seeking rest in the calm repose and silence of their far-distant 
homes. ) . / 

Fastening our horses to the front-yard fence of Todd's, 
making a pillow of our saddles, wrenching off" the palihgs for 
a bed to keep our/ bones from the ground, wrapping our blan- 
kets around us, we were sound asleep in three minutes, undis- 



320 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

turbed by the tramping of the passing troops, the jar of the 
artillery, the rumble of the ammunition wagons, the shouts of 
the soldiers, the shrieks of the wounded, and groans of the 
dying. 

At sunrise the head-quarters of the army were removed to 
Piney Grove Church. No bell called the worshippers of the 
parish to its portal on that Sabbath morning, but other tones 
were vibrating the air. The Fifth Corps had come in collision 
with the Rebels, and while the rear-guard of the army were 
firing their last shots in the Wilderness, the cannonade was 
reopening at Spottsylvania. 

The day was intensely hot. I was wearied by the events of 
the week, — the hard riding, the want of sleep, the series 
of battles, — and instead of riding out to the field, enjoyed lux- 
urious repose beneath the apple-trees, fragrant with blossoms, 
and listened to the strange Sabbath symphony, the humming 
of bees, the songs of the birds, the roll of musketry, and the 
cannonade. 

The second division, Robinson's, and the fourth. Cutler's 
(after the loss of Wadsworth, killed at the Wilderness), were 
engaged. Baxter's brigade of Robinson's division was thrown 
forward to ascertain the position of the enemy. Their advance 
brought on the battle. The Sixth Corps was moved to the left 
of Warren's on the Piney Church road, and was placed in 
supporting distance. In this first engagement Robinson was 
badly wounded in the leg. 

The Second Corps having filed through the woods, after a 
hot and dusty march, came up behind the Fifth and Sixth. I 
took a ride along the lines late in the afternoon. The Fifth 
was moving slowly forward over undulations and through pine 
thickets, — a long line of men in blue, picking their way, now 
through dense underbrush, in a forest of moaning pines, now 
stepping over a sluggish stream, with briers, hazel, thorn-bushes, 
and alders impeding every step, and now emerging into an old 
field where the thriftless farmers had turned the shallow soil 
for spring planting. 

There had been a lull in the cannonade, but it commenced 
again. It was as before, a spirited contest, which lasted half 
an hour. Warren pressed steadily on and drove the Rebels 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 321- 

from their advanced position, forcing them to retire across 
the creek, but losing several hundred men before he dis- 
lodged them. 

Reaching an opening in the forest, I came upon Hart's plan- 
tation, a collection of negro huts and farm buildings, — a 
lovely spot, where the spring wheat was already rolling in 
green waves in the passing breeze. Looking south over Po 
Creek, I could see the Catharpen road lined with horse and 
footmen, and could hear in the intervals of silence the rumble 
of wao-ons. A cloud of dust rose above the forest. Were the 
Rebels retreating, or were they receiving reinforcements ? Gen- 
eral Grant came down and looked at them. The Rebel artil- 
lerists near the court-house must have discovered us, for a 
half-dozen cannon-shot came ringing through the air, plunging 
into the newly ploughed corn-field and the clover-land, knee- 
deep with luxuriant grass. 

On Monday morning it was found that Lee's whole army was 
at Spottsylvania ; and as our skirmishers were deployed to 
ascertain the position of the enemy, it was discovered that Reb- 
els occupied all the ground in front. General Grant did not at 
first think Lee would make a detour of his whole force from a 
direct line to Richmond ; he thought it must be only detach- 
ments of men which had been thrown in his way ; but when he 
discovered what Lee's intentions were, he prepared to accept 
battle. Word was sent to General Burnside to take position on 
the extreme left. The Second Corps, which had been in rear of 
the Fifth, was swung to the right, while the Sixth was deflected 
toward the Ninth. While these dispositions were being made, 
the skirmishing and cannonade were never intermitted for an 
instant. A pontoon train was sent around to the right, to be 
used by Hancock. A battery was placed in position at Hart's 
plantation, and its rifle shot and shells interrupted the tide of 
travel on the Catharpen road. Riding down to the front of 
Hancock's corps, I found Birney, who with the Third Division 
held the extreme right, and had already pushed far over toward 
the Catharpen road. 

Gibbon's division was in the centre, and Barlow's was on the 
left, occupying, in part, ground which the Fifth had held the 
night previous. It was nearly .night, and the conflict was 

21 



322 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

deepening. The day had been intensely hot, but, as the cool- 
"ness of evening came on, both parties addressed themselves 
to the encounter. Barlow marched over undulating pasture- 
lands, through fringes of forest, into a meadow, across it, and 
into tlie dark pines beyond. Taking a favorable stand near 
a deserted farm-house, by the Piney Church road, I could 
see the dark lines move steadily on. Below me, on a hillock, 
were Hancock and staff directing movements. A half-dozen 
batteries were in position close by. One — the Third Massa- 
chusetts — was sending its shells over the heads of our men 
into the woods beyond the meadow. Mounting the breast- 
works which had been thrown up at this spot, I could see the 
orchard where the Rebel riflemen were lying. There was the 
sharp, shrill ringing of the minnie bullets whistling through the 
air, and at times a lurid sheet of flame from a brigade pouring 
in its volleys. There was the flash, the cloud of dust wherever 
the ragged iron tore its way, and the deafening report. I gladly 
availed myself of whatever protection the breastwork afforded, 
although a solid shot would have passed through the slight 
embankment as readily as a stone could be hurled through 
chaff. The chances were as one to several thousand of my 
being hit, but it is the one chance which makes a person wish 
he were somewhere else. The Second Corps was smartly as- 
sailed, but stood their ground and became assailants in turn, 
— not because they obeyed orders, but from the impulse of 
the men, who needed no urging. It was a remarkable fea- 
ture. The men in that contest fought because they wanted to. 
Gibbons and Birney swung like a double-hinged door upon 
Longstreet's left flank and obtained possession of the ground 
which the Rebels occupied at the beginning of the engagement. 
It became evident on Tuesday morning that Genei^al Lee had 
chosen Spottsylvania as a place for a trial of strength. Prepara- 
tions were accordingly made for the work. General Grant's 
wounded impeded his movements. He decided to send them 
to Fredericksburg. All who could walk w§re started on foot. 
Those who could not, but who did not need ambulances, were 
placed in empty wagons. The long procession took its wind- 
ing way, and other thousands of mangled forms were brought 
in to fill the empty places. It was a sad sight. It made 



1864.] 



FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 



323 



me sick at heart, and weary of war, and how much more sick 
and weary when I thought of the great iniquity which had 
caused it. 

At daybreak the cannonade recommenced, Grant's guns 
coming first into play. The Rebels for a while remained in 
silent indifference ; but as continued teasing rouses a wild 
beast's anger, so at length they replied. 

The air was calm, and the reverberation rolled far over the 
forest. There was constant skirmishing through the forenoon. 
General Grant rode along the lines, inspected the position, and 
issued orders for a general advance at five o'clock ; but Lee 
took the initiative, and through the afternoon the battle raged 
with exceeding fierjceness. 

There was nothing at Spottsylvania worthy of contention, — 
no mountain-pass or deep-running river ; but General Grant 
being on his way to Richmond, his adversary, like Apollyon 
assaulting Christian, had come out to meet him on that spot. 
Lee had the advantage of position and was able to concentrate 
his forces. It was about one o'clock when Longstreet began to 
press Hancock. There was a hot engagement for an hour, 
principally by Birney's division ; but failing to move Birney, an 
attempt was made to pry open still wider the jomt between the 
Second and Fifth Corps. 

The relative positions of the two armies will be seen from the 
following diagram. 




SPOTT^LYMIA. 



j The battle was fought in the forest, — in the marshes along 



324 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

the Ny, — in ravines, — in pine-thickets densely shaded with 
the dark evergreens that shut out the rays of the noonday 
sun, — in open fields, where Rebel batteries had full sweep and 
play — with shell, and grape, and canister — from intrenched 
positions on the hills. 

During a lull in the strife I visited the hospitals. Suddenly 
the battle recommenced in greater fury. The wounded began 
to come in at a fearful rate. The battle was drawing nearer. 
Shells were streaming past the hospitals. There were signs of 
disaster. 

" Are they driving us ? " was the eager inquiry of the 
wounded. 

While the storm was at its height, a stalwart soldier who had 
just risen from the amputating-table, where his left arm, torn 
to shreds by a cannon-shot, had been severed above the elbow, 
leaning against the tent-pole, sang the song he often had sung 
in camp, — 

" The Union forever ! Hurrah, boys ! hurrah ! 
Down with the traitor, up with the star ; 
While we rally round the flag, boys, rally once again, 
Shouting the battle-cry of Freedom ! " 

His wounded comrades heard it, and joined in the chorus, 
raising their arms, swinging their caps, and cheering the flag 
they loved. It is one of memory's fadeless pictures. Is it a 
wonder that the recollection of that scene sometimes fills my 
eyes with tears ? 

The contest all along the line was terrific. Even now, over 
all the intervening time and distance, I seem to hear the un- 
ceasing rattle and roll of musketry and cannon, the cheer 
of the combatants, the tramping of horses, the explosion of 
shells, the shriek of the rifled projectile, the crash through the 
trees. It goes on hour after hour. The ranks are thinning. 
The men with stretchers bring in their bleeding burdens, and 
lay them gently upon the ground. 

It is past seven o'clock. The shades of evening are falling. 
The hillside in front of the Sixth Corps is aflame. While the 
uproar is wildest there is a cheer, sharper and louder than the 
din of the conflict. It is not the savage war-cry of the enemy, 
but a buoyant shout. Into the storm sweeps the Vermont 



1864.] FROM THE KAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 325 

brigade, with bayonets firmly set, leaping over the Rebel works, 
and gathering hundreds of prisoners from Dale's brigade of 
Rebels. Ewell poured in reinforcements to strengthen his line 
and regain his lost work, which was stubbornly held by the 
Second Vermont. Far in advance of the main line lay that 
regiment, pouring a deadly fire upon the enemy. General 
Wright (in command after Sedgwick's death) sent to have 
the regiment withdrawn. 

" We don't want to go back ! Give us rations and ammu- 
nition, and we '11 hold it for six months if you want us to," 
was the reply. 

General Wright rode to General Grant. " What shall 1 
do ? " he asked. 

" Pile in the men and hold it ! " was the answer. 

General Wright returned, but meanwhile a subordinate offi- 
cer had ordered them to retire. They were loath to give up 
what they had won so gloriously. 

General Rice, commanding a brigade in the Fifth Corps, was 
wounded, and borne to the rear. The surgeon laid down his 
knife after removing the shattered limb, and stood beside 
him to soothe with tender words in the last dread hour 
which was coming on apace. The sufferer could hear the 
swelling tide of battle, the deepening rolls like waves upon 
the ocean shore. His eyes were closing. He was approaching 
that ocean which has no shore. His pain was intense. 

" Turn me over," said he, faintly. 

" Which way ? " 

" Let me die with my face to the enemy ! " 

They were his last words. A short struggle and all was 
ended. A Christian patriot had finished his work on earth, 
and was numbered with the heroic dead. 

The early dawn of Thursday, the 12th, beheld the Second 
Corps in motion, — not to flank the enemy, but moving, with 
fixed bayonets, straight on towards his intrenchments. Bar- 
low's and Birney's divisions in columns of battalions, doubled 
on the centre, to give strength and firmness, led the assault. 
They move silently through the forest, — through the ravine 
in front of them, up to their own skirmish-line, — past it, — 
no longer marching, but running now, — dashing on with en- 



326 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

tliusiasm thrilling every nerve. They sweep away the Rebel 
picket-line as if it were a cobweb. On ! into the intrench- 
ments with a hurrah which startles the soldiers of both armies 
from their morning slumbers. Major-General Johnson and 
Brigadier-General Stewart, and three thousand men of Swell's 
division are taken prisoners, eighteen cannon, and twenty-two 
standards captured. 

It was the work of five minutes, — as sudden as the swoop 
of an eagle. Then the uproar of the day began. The second 
line of the enemy's works was assaulted ; but, exasperated 
by their losses, the Rebels fought fiercely. The Ninth Corps 
was moved up from the left to support the Second. Long- 
street, on the other hand, was brought over to help Ewell. 
The Fifth and Sixth became partially engaged. There were 
charges and counter-charges. Positions were gained and lost. 
From morning till night the contest raged on the right, in the 
centre, and on the left, swaying to and fro over the undula- 
tions and through the ravines. It was a battle of fourteen 
hours' duration, — in severity, in unflinching determination, 
in obstinacy, not exceeded by any during the war. Between 
forty and fifty pieces of artillery were at one time in the hands 
of General Hancock ; but owing to the difficulties of removal, 
and the efforts of the enemy, he could secure only eighteen. 
During the day Grant advanced his lines a mile towards the 
court-house, and repulsed Lee in all his counter-attacks. 

During the lull in the strife at Spottsylvania I spent a day in 
Fredericksburg, visiting the hospitals. 

The city is a vast hospital ; churches, public buildings, pri- 
vate dwellings, stores, chambers, attics, basements, all full. 
There are thousands upon the sidewalk. All day long the 
ambulances have been arriving from the field. There are but 
few wounded left at the front, those only whom to remove would 
be certain death. 

A red flag has been flung out at the Sanitary Commission 
rooms, — a white one at the rooms of the Christian Commis- 
sion. There are three hundred volunteer nurses in attendance. 
The Sanitary Commission have fourteen wagons bringing sup- 
plies from Belle Plain. The Christian Commission has less 
transportation facilities, but in devotion, in hard work, in 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 327 

patient effort, it is the compeer of its more bountifully sup- 
plied neighbor. The nurses are divided into details, some for 
day service, some for night work. Each State has its Relief 
Committee. 

How patient the brave fellows are ! Not a word of com- 
plaint, but thanks for the slightest favor. There was a lack 
of crutches. I saw an old soldier of the California regiment, 
who fought with the lamented Baker at Ball's Bluff, and who 
had been in more than twenty battles, hobbling about with the 
arms of a settee nailed to strips of board. His regiment was 
on its way home, its three years of ser\ice having expired. It 
was reduced to a score or two of weather-beaten, battle-scarred 
veterans. The disabled comrade could hardly keep back the 
tears as he saw them pass down the street. " Few of us left. 
The bones of the boys are on every battle-field where the Army 
of the Potomac has fought," said he. 

Tliere was the sound of the pick and spade in the church- 
yard, a heaving-up of new earth, — a digging of trenches, not 
for defence against the enemy, but for the last resting-place of 
departed heroes. There they lie, each wrapped in his blanket, 
the last bivouac ! For them there is no more war, — no 
charges into the thick, leaden rain-drops, — no more hurrahs, 
no more cheering for the dear old flag ! They have fallen, but 
the victory is theirs, — theirs the roll of eternal honor. Side 
by side, — men from Massachusetts, from Pennsylvania, and 
from Wisconsin, — from all the States, resting in one common 
grave. Peace to them! blessings on the dear ones, — wives, 
mothers, children whom they have left behind. 

Go into the hospitals ; — armless, legless men, wounds of 
every description. Men on the floor, on the hard seats of 
church-pews, lying in one position all day, unable to move till 
the nurse, going the rounds, gives them aid. They must wait 
till their food comes. Some must be fed with a spoon, for they 
are as helpless as little children. 

" that we could get some straw for the brave fellows," 
said the Rev. Mr. Kimball, of the Christian Commission. He 
had wandered about town, searching for the article. 

" There is none to be had. We shall have to send to Wash- 
ington for it," said the surgeon in charge. 



328- FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [May, 

" Straw ! I remember two stacks, four miles out on the 
Spottsylvania road. I saw them last night as I galloped in 
from the front." 

Armed with a requisition from the Provost Marshal to seize 
two stacks of straw, with two wagons driven by freedmen, ac- 
companied by four Christian Commission delegates, away we 
went across the battle-field of December, fording Hazel Run, 
gaining the heights, and reaching the straw stacks owned by 
Rev. Mr. Owen, a bitter Rebel. 

" By wliose authority do you take my property ? " 

" The Provost Marshal, sir." 

" Are you going to pay me for it ? " 

" You must see the Provost Marshal, sir. If you are a loyal 
man, and will take the oath of allegiance, doubtless you will 
get your pay when we have put down the Rebellion." 

" It is pretty hard. My children are just ready to starve. 1 
have nothing for them to eat, and you come to take my prop- 
erty without paying for it." 

" Yes, sir, war is hard. You must remember, sir, that there 
are thousands of wounded men, — your Rebel wounded as well 
as ours. If your children are on the point of starving, those 
men are on the point of dying. We must have the straw for 
them. What we don't take to-night we will get in the morning. 
Meanwhile, sir, if anybody attempts to take it, please say to 
them that it is for the hospital, and they can't have it." 

Thus with wagons stuffed, we leave Rev. Mr. Owen and re- 
turn to make glad the hearts of several thousand men. how 
they thank us ! 

" Did you get it for me ? God bless you, sir." 

It is evening. Thousands of soldiers just arrived from Wash- 
ington have passed through the town to take their places in the 
front. The hills around are white with innumerable tents. 

A band is playing lively airs to cheer the wounded in the 
hospitals. I have been looking in to see the sufferers. Two 
or three have gone to their long home. They will need no 
more attention. A surgeon is at work upon a ghastly wound, 
taking up the arteries. An attendant is pouring cold water 
upon a swollen limb. In the Episcopal church a nurse is 
bolstering up a wounded officer in the area behind the altar. 



1864.] FEOM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 329 

Men are lying in the pews, on the seats, on the floor, on boards 
on top of the pews. 

Two candles in the spacious building throw their feeble rays 
into the dark recesses, faintly disclosing the recumljent forms. 
There is heavy, stifled breathing, as of constant effort to sup- 
press cries extorted by acutest pain. 

Passing into the street you see a group of women, talking 
about our wounded, -^ Rebel wounded, who are receiving their 
especial devotion. The Provost Marshal's patrol is going its 
rounds to preserve order. 

Starting down the street, you reach the rooms of the Christian 
Commission. Some of the men are writing letters for the sol- 
diers, some eating their night-rations, some dispensing supplies. 
Passing through the rooms, you gain the grounds in the rear, 
— a beautiful garden once, — not unattractive now. The air 
is redolent with honeysuckle and locust blossoms. The pruni- 
folia is unfolding its delicate milk-white petals ; roses are open- 
ing their tinted leaves. 

Fifty men are gathered round a summer-house, — warm- 
hearted men, who have been all day in the hospitals. Their 
hearts have been wrung by the scenes of suffering, in the exer- 
cise of Christian charity, imitating the example of the Redeemer 
of men. They have dispensed food for the body and nourish- 
ment for the soul. They have given cups of cold water in the 
name of Jesus, and prayed with those departing to the Silent 
Land. The moonlight shimmers through the leaves of the 
locusts, as they meet at that evening hour to worship God. 

The little congregation breaks into singing, — 

" Come, thou fount of every blessing." 

After the hymn, a chaplain says, " Brethren, I had service 
this afternoon in the First Division hospital of the Second Corps. 
The surgeon in charge, before prayer, asked all who desired to 
be prayed for to raise their hands, and nearly every man who 
had a hand raised it. Let us remember them in our prayers 
to-night." 

A man in the summer-house, so far off that I cannot dis- 
tinguish him, says, — 

" Every man in the Second Division of the Sixth Corps hos- 
pital raised his hand for prayers to-night." 



330 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Maj, 

There are earnest supplications that God will bless them; 
that they may have patience ; that Jesus will pillow their heads 
upon his breast, relieve their sufferings, soothe their sorrows, 
wipe away all their tears, heal their wounds ; that he will 
remember the widow and the fatherless, far away, moaning 
for the loved and lost. 
Another hymn, — 

" Jesus, lover of my soul, 
Let me to thy bosom fly," 

and the delegates return to their work of mercy. 

At Spottsylvania there were constant skirmishing and artil- 
lery-firing through the 13th, and a moving of the army from 
the north to the east of the Court-House. A rain-storm set in. 
Tlie roads became heavy, and a contemplated movement — a 
sudden flank attack — was necessarily abandoned. 

There was a severe skirmish on the 14th, incessant picket- 
firing on the 15th, and on the 16tli another engagement all 
along the line, — not fought with the fierceness of .that of the 
12th, but lasting through the forenoon, and resulting in the 
taking of a line of rifl^e-pits from the enemy. 

On Wednesday, the 18th, there was an assault upon Lee's 
outer line of works. Two lines of rifle-pits were carried ; but 
an impassable abatis prevented farther advance, and after a six 
hours' struggle the troops were withdrawn. 

On the afternoon of the 19th Ewell gained the rear of Grant's 
right flank, and came suddenly upon Tyler's division of heavy 
artillery, armed as infantry, just arrived upon the field. Though 
surprised, they held the enemy in check, forced him back, and 
with aid from the Second Corps compelled him to retreat with 
great loss. This attack was made to cover Lee's withdrawal to 
the North Anna. His troops were already on the march. 

Grant was swift to follow. 

It is a two days' march from Spottsylvania to the North 
Anna. The crossings of the Mattapony were held by Rebel 
cavalry, which was quickly driven. Then came the gallant 
crossing of the Fifth Corps at Jericho Ford, the irresistible 
charge of Birney and Barlow of the Second Corps at Taylor's 
Bridge, the sweeping-in of five hundred prisoners, tlie severe 
engagements lasting three days, — all memorable events, worthy 
of prominence in a full history of the campaign. 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 



331 




The North Anna is a rapid stream, with high banks. East of 
Taylor's bridge, towards Sexton's Junction, there is an exten- 
sive swamp, but westward the country is rolling. It was sup- 
posed that Lee would make a stubborn resistance at the cross- 
ings, but at Jericho Warren found only a few pickets upon the 
southern bank. A pontoon was laid and two divisions sent 
over ; but moving towards the railroad a mile, they encoun- 
tered Hood's and Pickett's divisions of Ewell's corps. The 
cannonade was heavy and the musketry sharp, mainly between 
Cutler's command and Ewell's, lasting till dark. 

It is about two miles from Jericho crossing to the railroad, 
the point for which the right wing was aiming. 

" I reckon that our troops did n't expect you to come this 
way," said Mr. Quarles, a citizen residing on the north bank, 
with whom I found accommodation for the night. 

" I suppose you did n't expect Grant to get this side of the 
Wilderness ? " 

" We heard that he was retreating towards Fredericksburg," 
was the response. 

He was the owner of a saw-mill. Timber was wanted for the 
construction of a bridge. His mill was out of repair, but there 
were men in the Union army accustomed to run saw-mills, and 
an hour was sufficient to put the machinery in order for the 
manufacture of lumber. It was amusing to see the soldiers 
lay down their guns, take up the crowbar, roll the logs into the 
mill, adjust the saw, hoist the gate, and sit upon the log while 



332 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Maj, 

the saw was cutting its way. The owner of the mill looked on 
in disgust, as his lumber was thus freely handled. 

In the first advance from Jericho bridge, the force was re- 
pulsed. The Rebels of Ewell's command came on with con- 
fidence, to drive the retreating troops into the river ; but 
"Warren had taken the precaution to place his smooth-bore guns 
on a hillock, south of the stream, while his rifled pieces were on 
the north side, in position, to give a cross-fire with the smooth- 
bores. When the Rebels came within reach of this concentrated 
fire they were almost instantly checked. It was no time to 
rush on, or to stand still and deliberate ; they fled, uncovering 
the railroad, to which the Sixth advanced, tearing up the track 
and burning the depot. In the centre, the Ninth Corps had a 
severe fight, resulting in considerable loss. 

It is two miles from Jericho bridge to Carmel Church, which 
stands in a beautiful grove of oaks. While the troops were 
resting beneath the trees, waiting for the order to move, a chap- 
lain entered the church and proposed to hold religious service. 

The soldiers manifested their pleasure, kneeled reverently 
during the prayer, and listened with tearful eyes to the ex- 
hortations which followed. 

It was inspiring to hear them sing, 

" Come, sing to me of heaven, 
When I 'm about to die ; 
Sing songs of holy ecstasy, 
To waft my soul on high." 

At dark on the evening of the 25th of May, I rode along the 
lines of the Second Corps to take a look at the Rebels. There 
was a steady fire of artillery. One battery of the Rebels had 
full sweep of the plain, and the shells were flying merrily. A 
thunder-storm was rising. The lightning was vivid and inces- 
sant. My head-quarters for the night were to be with a sur- 
geon attached to the First Division of the Ninth Corps, several 
miles distant. The dense black clouds rising in the west made 
the night intensely dark, except when the lightning-flashes 
gleamed along the sky. It was a scene of sublime grandeur : 
heaven's artillery in play, — the heavy peals of thunder, min- 
gling with the roar of the battle-field ! After an hour's ride 
through pine thickets, over old corn-fields, half-blinded by the 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 333 

lightning, I reached the quarters of my friend the surgeon, 
whose tent was just then being packed into the wagon for a 
night march to a new position. The storm was close at hand, 
and together we fled for shelter to a neighboring cabin. I had 
barely time to fasten my horse and enter the door before the 
storm was upon us. 

The house was built of logs, chinked with mud, contained 
two rooms about fifteen feet square, and was occupied by a col- 
ored family. 

Others had fled for shelter to the hospitable roof. I found 
congregated there for the night nine surgeons, three hospital 
nurses, a delegate of the Christian Commission, two soldiers, 
two colored women, a colored man, three children. The colored 
people had taken their only pig into the house, to save the 
animal from being killed by the soldiers, and had tied it to 
the bed-post. Their poultry — half a dozen fowls — was im- 
prisoned under a basket. The rain fell in torrents throughout 
the night. Finding a place under the table for my head, with 
my overcoat for a pillow, and thrusting my legs under the bed 
which was occupied by three surgeons, I passed the night, and 
thought myself much more highly favored than the forty or fifty 
who came to the door, but only to find a full hotel. 

Instead of trying to walk over the obstacle in his path. Grant 
decided to go round it. Stealing a march upon Lee, he moved 
suddenly southeast, crossed the Pamunkey at Hanover Town, 
opened a new base of supplies at White House, forcing Lee to 
fall back on the Chickahominy. 

On Sunday, the 29th, a great cavalry engagement took place 
at Hawes's shop, west of Hanover Town, in which Sheridan 
drove the Rebels back upon Bethesda Clmrch. The army 
came into position on the 30th, its right towards Hanover 
Court-House. Lee was already in position, and during the 
day there was firing all along the line. All the corps were 
engaged. The Second Corps by the Shelton House, by a bayo- 
net-charge pushed the enemy from the outer line of works 
which he had thrown up, while the Fifth Corps rolled back, 
with terrible slaughter, the mass of men which came upon its 
flank and front at Bethesda Church. At Cold Harbor, the 
Sixth, joined by the Eighteenth Army Corps, under Major- 



334 



FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[June, 



General W. F. Smith, from Bermuda Hundred, met Longsti'eet 
and Breckenridge, and troops from Beauregard. Sheridan had 
seized this important point, — important because of the junc- 
tion of roads, — and held it against cavalry and infantry till 
the arrival of the Fifth and Eighteenth. The point secured, 
a new line of battle was formed on the 1st of June. The 
Ninth held the right of Bethesda Church ; the Fifth was south 
of the church, joining the Eighteenth ; the Sixth held the road 
from Cold Harbor to Gaines's Mills ; while tlie Second was 
thrown out on the left, on the road leading to Despatch Sta- 
tion and the Chickahominy. 

In the campaign of 1862, Cold Harbor was General McClel- 
lan's head-quarters while he was on the north bank of the 
Chickahominy, and Jackson, when he advanced to attack Pitz 
John Porter, marched down the road over which Grant moved, 
to that locality. It is a place of one house, — an old tavern 
standing at a crossing of roads, twelve miles from Richmond. 
The most direct route to the city runs past Gaines's Mills, where 
the first of the series of battles was fought before Richmond, in 
the seven days' contest. Jackson's head-quarters were at Cold 
Harbor during that engagement. 

The general position of the two armies in Grant's battles at 
Cold Harbor is indicated by the accompanying diagram. 




1864.] FROM THE KAPIDAN TO COLD HAEBOE. 335 

A huge catalpa stands in front of the old tavern, where in 
the peaceful days of the Old Dominion travellers rested their 
horses beneath the grateful shade, while they drank their toddy 
at the tavern bar. Two great battles were fought there by 
Grant, the first in the evening of the 1st of June, the second 
on the evening of the 3d. 

There is a line of breastworks west of the house, a few rods 
distant, behind which Russell's division of the Sixth Corps is 
lying. The road to Despatch Station runs due south ; the road 
to New Cold Harbor southwest, the road to Bethesda Church 
northwest. In the battle fought on the 1st instant, Neil was 
east of the road leading to Despatch Station, Russell west of 
the house, and Ricketts northwest. 

Passing toward the right one mile, we come to the house of 
Daniel Woody, which is in rear of the right of the line of the 
Eighteenth. It is the head-quarters of General Martindale, 
who commands the right division of the line. Next is Brooks's 
division in the centre, with Devens on the left, connecting with 
Ricketts's on the right of the Sixth. 

Tliere is a clear space west of Woody's house, a corn-field 
lately planted, but now trodden by the feet of Martindale's 
men. In front of Brooks there is a gentle swell of land, 
wooded with pines. On the crest of the hill there is a line of 
Rebel rifle-pits. In front of Devens the swell is smoothed to a 
plain, or rather there is a depression, as if the hillock had been 
scooped out of the plain. This also is wooded. The belt of 
timber stretches over the plain, crossing the road to Gaines's 
Mill, about half a mile fi'om the tavern, — a dark strip of green 
twenty or thirty rods in width. Beyond the belt toward Rich- 
mond is a smooth field, half a mile in width, bounded on the 
farther edge, under the shadow of another belt of green, by 
the line of Beauregard's breastworks. The line of Rebel de- 
fence runs diagonally to the road, the distance being less 
between Ricketts and the work than on the left in front of 
Neil. This plain is swept by Rebel cannon and thousands 
of rifles and muskets. 

It was past six o'clock — nearly seven — before the troops 
were in position to move upon the enemy's works. They 
marched through the woods, emerged upon the open field. 



336 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

The Rebel batteries opened with redoubled fury, but the line 
advanced steadily. Devens found the depression in front of 
liim almost a marsh, with trees felled, forming an abatis ; but 
his men passed through, and again came into line. Burn- 
ham's brigade, of Brooks's division, containing the Tenth and 
Thirteenth New Hampshire, Eighth Connecticut, and One 
Hundred and Eighteenth New York, charged up the hill in 
front, and took the rifle-pits above them. Ricketts, having less 
distance to advance than the other divisions of the Sixtli, was 
soonest in the fight, sweeping all before him. Before tlie Rebels 
could reload their pieces after the first volley the bayonets of the 
advancing columns, gleaming in the light of the setting sun, 
were at their throats. Half a brigade was taken prisoners, 
while the rest of the Rebels in front of Ricketts fled in disorder. 

Russell moving along the road received an enfilading fire 
from artillery and musketry. The Rebels having recovered 
from their panic, held on with stubbornness. The broad plain 
over which Russell moved was fringed with fire. From dark 
till past ten o'clock Breckenridge tried in vain to recover what 
he had lost. 

The loss was severe to us in killed and wounded. But it 
was a victory, so signal that a congratulatory order was issued 
by General Meade to the Sixth Corps. 

Lying beneath the ever-moaning pines, with the star-lit 
heavens for a tent, I listened to the sounds of the battle, — 
steady, monotonous, like the surf on the beach. An hour's 
sleep, and still it was rolling in. But all things must hare an 
end. Near midnight it died away, and there was only the 
chirping of the cricket, the unvarying note of the whip-poor- 
will, and the wind swaying the stately trees around me. 
Peaceful all around ; but ah ! beyond those forest belts were 
the suffering heroes, parched with thirst, fevered with the 
fight, bleeding for their country. How shall we thank them ? 
How shall we reward them ? What estimate shall we place 
upon their work ? friends, as you recall this sacrifice, let 
your hearts warm with devotion to your country. Do honor 
to the noble dead, and forget not the living, — the widow and 
the fatherless. 

The battle of the 3d of June was obstinate and bloody, and 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 337 

resulted in great loss to Grant. The artillery firing was con- 
stant through the forenoon, but Lee was too strongly en- 
trenched to be driven. 

As soon as there was a lull in the roar of battle, I improved 
the opportunity to visit the hospitals. There were long lines 
of ambulances bringing in the wounded, who were laid beneath 
the trees. Unconscious men were upon the tibles, helpless 
in the hands of the surgeons, — to wake from a dreamless 
sleep with a limb gone, a bleeding stump of a leg or arm. 
Horrid the gashes where jagged iron had cut through the flesh, 
severing arteries and tendons in an instant. Heads, hands, legs, 
and arms mangled and dl'ipping with blood, — human blood ! 
There were moans, low murmurings, wrenched from the men 
against their wills. Men were babbling, in their delirium, of 
other scenes, — dim recollections, which were momentary re- 
alities. To be with them and not do for them, — to see suffer- 
ing without power to alleviate, — gives painful tension to nerves, 
even though one may be familiar with scenes of carnage. 

I turned from the scene all but ready to say, " Anything to 
stay this terrible destruction of human life." But there were 
other thoughts, — of retributive justice, — of sighs and groans, 
scourged backs, broken hearts, partings of mothers from their 
children, — the cofHe train, and the various horrors of the 
accursed system of slavery, the cause of all this " wounding 
and hurt." I remembered that it was a contest between 
eternal right and infernal wrong ; that He who is of infinite 
love and tenderness in His war against rebellion, spared not his 
only begotten Son ; — and thus consoled and strengthened, I 
could wish the contest to go on till victory should crown our 
efforts, and a permanent peace be the inheritance of our chil- 
dren. 

At Cold Harbor the abilities of Leo, McClellan, and Grant 
as commanders have been exhibited. Lee's head-quarters 
during the battle of Gaines's Mills were at New Cold Harbor, 
but during the afternoon he rode over to the old tavern and 
had a talk with Jackson. That battle was won by Lee after a 
hard struggle, not through any lack of courage on the- part of 
the Union troops, but through McClellan's want of general- 
ship. McClellan was ever taking counsel of his fears. He 

22 



338 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

uniformly overestimated the numbers of the enemy. When 
Lee advanced to Munson's Hill, near Alexandria, in October, 
1861, his army did not exceed sixty thousand, but McClellan 
estimated it at " one hundred and fifty thousand, well drilled, 
equipped, ably commanded, and strongly entrenched." * In 
March, 1862, when Lee evacuated Manassas, his estimate of 
the Rebel army was one hundred and fifteen thousand, while 
the actual strength was less than fifty thousand. " It seems 
clear that I shall have the whole force of the enemy on my 
hands, probably not less than one hundred thousand, and prob- 
ably more," wrote McClellan to the Secretary of War upon his 
arrival at Yorktown. 

Magruder commanded the Rebels at Yorktown. " My whole 
force," says he, " was less than eleven thousand." f 

The day before the battle of Cold Harbor, McClellan's esti- 
mate of Lee's army was two hundred thousand. $ His own 
force, sick and well, on the 20th, was one hundred and seven- 
teen thousand. He had present and fit for duty on the day of 
battle from one hundred to one hundred and five thousand. 
Lee's force was two or three thousand less. 

McClellan knew very little of Lee's army. He intrusted 
the management of the secret service to two French princes, 
who, however estimable they might be as individuals, had a 
superficial acquaintance with the English language, who knew 
but little of America or Americans, — whose geographical 
knowledge of the country in which the war was being carried 
on was less than that of the scholars of a New England gram- 
mar school, — who were wanting in the lawyer-like qualifica- 
tions necessary to separating the true from the false in the 
stories of deserters, scouts, and spies. So inefficient was the 
secret service that McClellan had no information of Lee's 
movements or intentions till Jackson was at Ashland, within 
a few hours' march of Cold Harbor. When he saw that he 
was to be attacked, he moved his own head-quarters to the 
south side, making no effort to win the battle, thinking only of 
a retreat to the James. 

A general who wins a battle through the blundering of an 

* McClellan's Report, p. 46. } McClellan's Report, p. 238. 

t Magruder's Report. 



1864.] FROM THE EAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 339 

inefficient opponent cannot be called, on that account alone, a 
great commander. There must be genius in movements, in 
making use of positions and forces, so that victory is wrenched 
from a skilful foe, to entitle a commander to wear the bay- 
leaves upon his brow. 

McClellan's army was divided by the Chickahominy. He 
had about thirty thousand men on the north bank and seventy- 
five thousand on the south side. Lee submitted a plan to Jeif 
Davis, which was accepted, by which he hoped to destroy that 
portion of McClellan's force on the north bank. Whiting's 
and Ewell's divisions were put on board the cars and sent up 
the Virginia Central Railroad to Gordonsville, as if to join 
Jackson in the Shenandoah, or for a march on Washington, 
but Jackson was on his way towards Richmond. He com- 
manded the united force, amounting to thirty thousand. He 
moved down to Ashland. A deserter informed McClellan at 
Cold Harbor that Jackson would attack him on the 28th.* 
Negroes came in on the next day who said that Jackson was 
at Hanover Court-House. McClellan's line was twenty miles 
long. His extreme right was north of Richmond, at Mechan- 
icsville ; his left was southeast of the city, resting on White 
Oak Swamp. McClellan could have reinforced Porter, and 
defeated Lee, or he could have withdrawn him to the south 
bank, and pushed into Richmond, but he left Porter to contend 
with Lee's entire army, except Magruder's command of about 
twenty thousand men,t while he burned his supplies, destroyed 
the railroad, and made ready to march to the James. Porter 
held his ground till nearly night, calling for reinforcements. 
Had a division been sent him at the right time, Lee would have 
suffered a terrible defeat. Slocum, of Franklin's corps, was 
sent over when too late to be of essential service. Jackson 
extended his left south from the old tavern, and fell upon 
Porter's right flank, and drove the Union troops, but every- 
where else Lee was repulsed with great loss. His entire loss 
in that battle was about nine thousand and five hundred, 
McClellan's about four thousand. 

Lee moved out from Richmond when Jackson was at Han- 

* McClellan's Report. t Pollard, First Year, p. 329. 



340 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

over Court-House. Branch's division marched up the Brooke 
turnpike, A. P. Hill moved over the Mechanicsville turnpike, 
Longstreet and D. H. Hill by the New Bridge road. McClel- 
lan was informed of the movement. Here was his golden 
opportunity. By throwing nearly his entire army north of 
the Chickahominy, he could have met Lee outside of his en- 
trenchments, or he could have withdrawn Porter and made a 
rush upon ihe city. Lee expected to meet the whole Union 
army at Cold Harbor, and in the battle supposed he was fight- 
ing McClellan's main force. 

" The principal part of the enemy was on the north side," 
says Lee in his report. It is evident that in his plan he calcu- 
lated that McClellan would not risk a battle with a divided 
army, and he therefore left but a small force to hold Rich- 
mond. Magruder on the other hand, saw the danger to the 
city. Says Magruder : — 

" From the time at which the enemy withdrew his forces to this side 
of the Chickahominy, and destroyed the bridges, to the moment of his 
evacuation, — that is, from Friday night until Sunday morning, — I 
considered the situation of our army extremely critical and perilous. 
The larger portion of it was on either side of the Chickahominy, the 
bridges had all been destroyed, and but one was rebuilt, the New 
Bridge, which was fully commanded by the enemy's guns at Golding's ; 
and there were but twenty-five thousand men between his army and 
Richmond. I received repeated instructions during Saturday night from 
General Lee's head-quarters, enjoining upon my command the utmost 
vigilance, directing the men to sleep on their arms, to be prepared for 
whatever might occur. I passed the night without sleep, and in the 
superintendence of their execution. Had McClellan massed his whole 
force in column, and -advanced it against any point of our line of bat- 
tle, as was done at Austerlitz by the greatest captain of any age, though 
the head of his column would have suffered greatly, its momentum 
would have insured him success, and the occupation of our works about 
Richmond, and consequently the city might have been his reward. Our 
relief was therefore great when information reached us that the enemy 
had evacuated his works and was retreating." * 

Magruder, in the above statement, unintentionally exposes 
the faultiness of Lee's plan, which, had McClellan improved 

* Magnider's Report, p. 191. 



1864.] FROM THE EAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 341 

his opportunity, would have been the loss of the Rebel capital, 
the rout and disorganization of Lee's army, and a historic page 
wholly different from that now on record. 

In contrast is Grant's plan of operations. His secret-service 
department was managed with rare ability, by men acquainted 
with the English language, who were adepts in the art of sifting 
truth from falsehood. Grant was well informed as to Lee's 
numbers, the reinforcements at his disposal, and his move- 
ments. He took counsel of his courage, never of his fear. In 
his plan of the Wilderness campaigns, the series of movements 
from the Rapidan to the James, were duly considered before 
the orders for the advance were given. When he saw that he 
could not reach Richmond from the north, he decided to sweep 
round to the James, but not till he had made it impossible for 
Lee to move upon Washington, by breaking up the Virginia 
Central and Fredericksburg Railroad. McClellan complained 
that he was deprived of the control of McDowell's force at 
Fredericksburg, which was retained by the President to cover 
Washington ; but the railroad from Richmond to Manassas was 
then in running order, with the exception of the bridge across 
the Rappahannock. Grant's prudence in securing Washington 
was as marked as his tenacity of purpose to push on towards 
Richmond. 

The transfer of the Eighteenth Corps from Bermuda Hun- 
dred to seize Cold Harbor, — the order for which was given 
before the army crossed the Pamunkey, — was a conception as 
brilliant as that of Lee's in the transfer of Jackson from the 
Shenandoah in '62. The march of the army to the south side 
of the James, which will be narrated in another chapter, was 
the most striking movement of the campaign, exhibiting ihe 
same quality of genius which had been exhibited at Vicksburg, 
and which has no parallel in the movements of any of the Rebel 
cpmmanders during the war. 

There was a season of rest while Grant was preparing for 
the march to the James. The army needed it. A month 
had passed, the most terrible of all the months of the war. 
There had been scarcely an hour of quiet from the moment 
when the army broke camp at Culpepper till it reached Cold 
Harbor. It never can be known how many were killed and 



342 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Juiie, 

wounded in that month of battle. The hospitals of Washing- 
ton were crowded. Thousands of slightly wounded were 
granted leave of absence. Reinforcements were hurried on 
to fill up the wasted ranks. Lee's loss was nearly as heavy 
as Grant's. Richmond was overflowing with wounded ; all 
central Virginia was a hospital. Both armies were becoming 
exhausted. 

Lee was the attacking party at the Wilderness, but it was 
his last offensive movement, except as the gauge of battle was 
given by Grant. 

The march from Spottsylvania to Cold Harbor was through a 
section never before visited by Union troops. At the crossing 
of the Ny I found quarters at a farm-house owned by a feeble, 
forceless, gray-bearded, black-eyed man. There was constitu- 
tionally a want of starch in his physical organization. He was 
free and frank, but shiftless. He owned eighty acres of land, two 
negroes, an old horse, and a rickety cart. His house was mean, 
but it was charmingly located, overlooking the broad valley 
of the Mattapony, and surrounded by loci«5ts and magnolias. 
Nature had done a great deal towards making it a paradise, 
but tlie owner had been an indifferent steward. Lying upon 
the grass beneath the trees, I fell into conversation with the 
proprietor. 

" This is Caroline County, I believe." 

"Yes, sir, this is old Caroline, — a county which has sold 
more negroes down south than any other in Virginia." 

" I was not aware of that ; but I remember now a negro song 
which I used to hear. The burden of it was, 

' I wish I was back in old Caroline.' " 

" Quite likely, for the great business of the county has been 
nigger-raising, and it has been our curse. I never owned only 
old Peter and his wife. I wish I did n't own them, for they 
are old and I have got to support them ; but how in the world 
I am to do it I don't know, for the soldiers have stripped me of 
everything." 

" Do you mean the Union soldiers ? " 

"Yes, and ours (Rebels) also. First, my boys were con- 
scripted. I kept them out as long as I could, but they were 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 343 

obliged to go. Then they took my horses. Then your cavalry 
came and took all my corn and stole my meat, ransacked the 
house, seized my flour, killed my pigs and chickens, and here 
I am, stripped of everything." 

" It is pretty hard, but your leaders would have it so." 
" I know it, sir, and we are getting our pay for it." 
It was frankly spoken, and was *the first admission I had 
heard from Southern lips that the South was suffering retribu- 
tion for the crime of Secession. It probably did not enter his 
head that the selling of slaves, the breaking up of families, the 
sundering of heart-strings, the cries and tears and prayers of 
fathers and mothers, the outrages, the whippings, scourgings, 
branding with hot irons, were also crimes in the sight of 
Heaven. Broken hearts were nothing to him, — not that he 
was naturally worse than other men, but because slavery had 
blunted sensibility. 

During the march the next day towards the North Anna, I 
halted at a farm-house. The owner had fled to Richmond in 
advance of the army, leaving his overseer, a stout, burly, red- 
faced, tobacco-chewing man. There were a score of old build- 
ings on the premises. It had been a notable plantation, yield- 
ing luxuriant harvests of wheat, but the proprietor had turned 
his attention to the culture of tobacco and the breeding of 
negroes. He sold annually a crop of human beings for the 
southern market. The day before our arrival, hearing that the 
Yankees were coming, he hurried forty or fifty souls to Rich- 
mond. He intended to take all, — forty or fifty more, — but 
the negroes fled to the woods. The overseer did his best 
to collect them, but in vain. The proprietor raved, and 
stormed, and became violent in his language and behavior, 
threatening terrible punishment on all the runaways, but the 
appearance of a body of Union cavalry put an end to maledic- 
tions. He had a gang of men and women chained together, 
and hurried them toward Richmond. 

The runaways came out from their hiding-places when they 
saw the Yankees, and advanced fearlessly with open coun- 
tenances. The first pleasure of the negroes was to smile from 
ear to ear, the second to give everybody a drink of water or a 
piece of hoe-cake, the third to pack up their bundles and be in 
readiness to join the army. 



344 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

" Are you not afraid of us ? " 

" Afraid ! Why, boss, I 's been praying for yer to come ; 
and now yer is here, thank de Lord." 

" Are you not afraid that we shall sell you ? " 

" No, boss, I is n't. The overseer said you would sell us off 
to Cuba, to work in the sugar-mill, but we did n't believe him." 

Among the servants was a bright mulatto girl, who was dan- 
cing, singing, and manifesting her joy in violent demonstration. 

" What makes you so happy ? " I asked. 

" Because you Yankees have come. I can go home now." 

" Is not this your home ? " 

" No. I come from Williamsport in Maryland." 

" When did you come from there ? " 

" Last year. Master sold me. I spect my brother is 'long 
with the army. He ran away last year. Master was afraid 
that I should run away, and he sold me." 

The negroes came from all the surrounding plantations. Old 
men with venerable beards, horny hands, crippled with hard 
work and harder usage ; aged women, toothless, almost blind, 
steadying their steps with sticks ; little negro boys, driving a 
team of skeleton steers, — mere bones and tendons covered with 
hide, — or wall-eyed horses, spavined, foundered, and lame, at- 
tached to rickety carts and wagons, piled with beds, tables, chairs, 
pots and kettles, hens, turkeys, ducks, women with infants in 
their arms, and a sable cloud of children trotting by their side. 

" Where are you going? " I said to a short, thick-set, gray- 
bearded old man, shuffling along the road; his toes bulging from 
his old boots, and a tattered straw hat on his head, — his gray 
wool protruding from the crown. 

" I do'no, boss, where I 's going, but I reckon I '11 go where- 
the army goes." 

" And leave your old home, your old master, and the place 
where you have lived all your days ? " 

" Yes, boss ; master, he 's gone. He went to Richmond. 
Beckon he went mighty sudden, boss, when he heard you was 
coming. Thought I 'd like to go along with you." 

His face streamed with perspiration. He had been sorely 
afflicted with the rheumatism, and it was with difficulty that he 
kept up with the column ; but it was not a hard matter to 



1864.] FROM THE EAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 345 

read the emotions of his heart. He was marching towards 
freedom. Suddenly a hght had shined upon him. Hope had 
quickened in his soul. He had a vague idea of what was be- 
fore him. He had broken loose from all which he had been 
accustomed to call his own, — his cabin, a mud-chinked struc- 
ture, with the ground for a floor, his garden patch, — to go out, 
in his old ago, wholly unprovided for, yet trusting in God that 
there would be food and raiment on the other side of Jordan. 

It was a Jordan to them. It was the Sabbath-day, — bright, 
clear, calm, and delightful. There was a crowd of several hun- 
dred colored people at a deserted farm-house. 

" Will it disturb you if we have a little singing ? You see 
we feel so happy to-day that we would like to praise the Lord." 

It was the request of a middle-aged woman. 

" Not in the least. I should like to hear you." 

In a few moments a crowd had assembled in one of the 
rooms. A stout young man, black, bright-eyed, thick-wooled, 
took the centre of the room. The women and girls, dressed in 
their best clothes, which they had put on to make their exodus 
from bondage in the best possible manner, stood in circles round 
him. The young man began to dance. He jumped up, clapped 
his hands, slapped his thighs, whirled round, stamped upon the 
floor. 

" Sisters, let us bless the Lord. Sisters, join in the chorus," 
he said, and led off with a kind of recitative, improvised as the 
excitement gave him utterance. From my note-book I select a 
few lines : — 

RECITATIVE. 

" We are going to the other side of Jordan." 

CHORUS. 

" So glad ! so glad ! 
Bless the Lord for freedom, 

So glad ! so glad ! 
We are going on our way, 

So glad ! so glad ! 
To the other side of Jordan, 

So glad ! so glad ! 
Sisters, won't you follow ? 

So glad ! so glad ! 
Brothers, won't you follow ? " 



346 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

And so it went on for a half-hour, without cessation, all 
dancing, clapping their hands, tossing their heads. It was the 
ecstasy of action. It was a joy not to be uttered, but de- 
monstrated. The old house partook of their rejoicing. It rang 
with their jubilant shouts, and shook in all its joints. 

I stood an interested spectator. One woman, well dressed, 
intelligent, refined in her deportment, modest in her manner, 
said, " It is one way in which we worship, sir. It is our first 
day of freedom." 

The first day of freedom ! Behind her were years of suffer- 
ing, hardship, unrequited toil, heartaches, darkness, no hope of 
recompense or of light in this life, but a changeless future. 
Death, aforetime, was their only deliverer. For them there 
was hope only in the grave. But suddenly Hope had advanced 
from eternity into time. They need not wait for death ; in life 
they could be free. Is it a wonder that they exhibited extrav- 
agant joy ? 

Apart from the dancers was a woman with light hair, 
hazel eyes, and fair complexion. She sat upon the broad 
steps of the piazza, and looked out upon the fields, or rather 
into the air, unmindful of the crowd, the dance, or the shout- 
ing. Her features were so nearly of the Anglo-Saxon type that 
it required a second look to assure one that there was African 
blood in her veins. She alone of all the crowd was sad in 
spirit. She evidently had no heart to join in the general 
jubilee. 

" Where did you come from ? " I asked. 

" From Caroline County." 

Almost every one else would have said, " From old Caroline." 
There was no trace of the negro dialect, more than you hear 
from all classes in the South, for slavery has left its taint upon 
the language ; it spares nothing, but is remorseless in its cor- 
rupting influences. 

" You do not join in the song and dance," I said. 

" No, sir." 

Most of them would have said " master " or " boss." 

" I should think you would want to dance on your first night 
of freedom, if ever." 

" I don't dance, sir, in that way." 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 347 

" Was your master kind to you ? " 

" Yes, sir ; but he sold my husband and children down South." 

The secret of her sadness was out. 

" Where are you going ? or where do you expect to go ? " 

" I don't know, sir, and I don't care where I go." 

The conversation ran on for some minutes. She manifested 
no animation, and did not once raise her eyes, but kept them 
fixed on vacancy. Husband and children sold, gone forever, — 
there was nothing in life to charm her. Even the prospect of 
freedom, with its undefined joys and pleasures, its soul-stirring 
expectations, raising the hopes of those around her, moved 
her not. 

Life was a blank. She had lived in her master's family, and 
was intelligent. She was the daughter of her master. She 
was high-toned in her feelings. The dancing and shouting of 
those around her were distasteful. It was to her more barbaric 
than Christian. She was alone among them. She felt her 
degradation. Freedom could not give her a birthright among 
the free. The daughter of her master ! It was gall and worm- 
wood ; and he, her father, had sold her husband and his grand- 
children ! 

I had read of such things. But one needs to come in 
contact with slavery, to feel how utterly loathsome and hate- 
ful it is. There was the broken-hearted victim, so bruised that 
not freedom itself, neither the ecstasy of those around her, could 
awaken an emotion of joy. Hour after hour the festivities went 
on, but there she sat upon the step, looking down the desolate 
years gone by, or into a dreamless, hopeless future. 

It was late at niglit before the dancers ceased, and then they 
stopped, not because of a surfeit of joy, but because the time 
had come for silence in the camp. It was their first Sabbath of 
freedom, and like the great king of Israel, upon the recovery of 
the ark of God, they danced before the Lord with all their might. 

We had a hard, dusty ride from the encampment at Mongo- 
hick to the Pamunkey. It was glorious, however, in the early 
morning to sweep along the winding forest-road, with the head- 
quarters' flag in advance. Wherever its silken folds were un- 
furled, there tlie two commanders might be found, — General 
Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac, and General 



348 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

Grant, the commander of all the forces of the Union in the 
field. We passed the long line of troops, crossed the Pamunkey 
upon a pontoon bridge, rode a mile or two across the verdant 
intervale, and halted beneath the oaks, magnolias, and button- 
woods of an old Virginia mansion. The edifice was reared a 
century ago. It was of wood, stately and substantial. How 
luxurious the surrounding shade ; the smooth lawn, the rolled 
pathways bordered by box, with moss-roses, honeysuckle, and 
jessamines scentuig the air, and the daisies dotting the green- 
sward ! The sweep of open land, — viewing it from the wide 
portico ; the long reach of cultivated grounds ; acres of wheat 
rolling in the breeze, like waves of the ocean ; meadow-lands, 
smooth and fair; distant groves and woodlands, — how mag- 
nificent ! It was an old estate, inherited by successive genera- 
tions, — by those whose pride it had been to keep the paternal 
acres in the family name. But the sons had all gone. A daugh- 
ter was the last heir. She gave her hand, and heart, and the 
old homestead, — sheep, horses, a great stock of bovines, and 
a hundred negroes or more, — to her husband. The family 
name became extinct, and the homestead of seven or eight 
generations passed into the hands of one bearing another 
name. 

When McClellan was on the Peninsula, the shadow of the 
war-cloud swept past the place. One or two negroes ran away, 
but at that time they were not tolerated in camp. The 
campaign of 1862 left the estate unharmed. But Sheridan's 
cavalry, followed by the Sixth Corps, in its magnificent march 
from the North Anna, had suddenly and unexpectedly disturbed 
the security of the old plantation. There was a rattling fire 
from carbines, a fierce fight, men wounded and dead, broken 
fences, trodden fields of wheat and clover ; ransacked stables, 
corn-bins, meat-houses, and a swift disappearing of live stock 
of every description. 

But to go back a little. The proprietor of this estate ardently 
espoused Secession. His wife was as earnest as he. They hated 
the North. They loved the institutions and principles of the 
South. They sold their surplus negroes in the Richmond mar- 
ket. They parted husbands and wives, tore children from the 
arms of their mothers, and separated them forever. They lived 



1864.] FROM THE RAPIDAN TO COLD HARBOR. 349 

on unrequited labor, and grew rich through the breeding of 
human flesh for the market. 

When the war commenced, the owner of this magnificent 
estate enlisted in the army and was made a Colonel of cavalry. 
He furnished supplies and kept open house for his comrades in 
arms ; but he fell in a cavalry engagement on the Rappahannock, 
in October, 1863, leaving a wife and three young children. 
The advance of the army, its sudden appearance on the Pamun- 

key, left Mrs. no time to remove her personal estate, or to 

send her negroes to Richmond for safe keeping. Fitz-Hugh 
Lee disputed Sheridan's advance. The fighting began on this 
estate. Charges by squadrons and regiments were made through 
the corn-fields. Horses, cattle, hogs, sheep, were seized by the 
cavalrymen. The garden, filled with young vegetables, was 
spoiled. In an hour there was complete desolation. The 
hundred negroes — cook, steward, chambermaid, house and 
field hands, old and young — all left their work and followed 
the army. Mrs. was left to do her own work. The par- 
lors of the stately mansion were taken by the surgeons for a 

hospital. The change which Mrs. experienced was from 

affluence to abject poverty, from power to sudden helplessness. 

Passing by one of the negro cabins on the estate, I saw a 
middle-aged colored woman packing a bundle. 

" Are you going to move ? " I asked. 

" Yes, sir ; I am going to follow the army." 

" What for ? Where will you go ? " 

" I want to go to Washington, to find my husband. He ran 
away awhile ago, and is at work in Washington." 

" Do you think it right, auntie, to leave your mistress, who 
has taken care of you so long ? " 

She had been busy with her bundle, but stopped now and 
stood erect before me, her hands on her hips. Her black eyes 
flashed. 

" Taken care of me ! What did she ever do for me ? Have n't 
I been her cook for more than thirty years ? Have n't I cooked 
every meal she ever ate in that house ? What has she done for 
me in return ? She has sold my children down South, one after 
another. She has whipped me when I cried for them. She 
has treated me like a hog, sir ! Yes, sir, like a hog ! " 



350 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

She resumed her work of preparation for leaving. That 
night she and her remaining children joined the thousands of 
colored people who had already taken sudden leave of their 
masters. 

Eeturning to the mansion to see the wounded, I met Mrs. 

in the hall. She was tall, robust, dignified. She evidently 

did not fully realize the great change which had taken place in 
her affairs. The change was not complete at that moment. 
The colored steward was there, hat in hand ; obsequious, bow- 
ing politely, and obeying all commands, A half-hour before I 
had seen him in the cook's cabin, making arrangements for 
leaving the premises, and a half-hour later he was on his way 
toward freedom. 

"I wish I had gone to Richmond," said the lady. "This 
is terrible, terrible ! They have taken all my provisions, all 
my horses and cattle. My servants are going. What shall I 
do ? " She sank upon the sofa, and for a moment gave way to 
her feelings. 

" You are better off here than you would be there, with the 
city full of wounded, and scant supplies in the market," I re- 
marked. 

" You are right, sir. What could I do with my three little 
children there ? Yet how I am to live here I don't know. 
When will this terrible war come to an end ? " 

But enough of this scene. I have introduced it because it 
is real, and because it is but one of many. There are hundreds 
of Southern homes where the change has been equally great. 
Secession is not what they who started it thought it would be. 
The penalties for crime always come, sooner or later. God's 
scales are correctly balanced. He makes all things even. For 
every tear wrung from the slave by injustice, for every broken 
heart, for the weeping and wailing of mothers for their babes 
sold to the far-off South, for every wrong there is retribution. 

" Though the mills of God grind slowly, 
Yet they grind exceeding small ; 
Though with patience he stands waiting, 
With exactness grinds he all." 



1864.] TO PETERSBURG 351 



CHAPTER XX. 

TO PETERSBURG. 

General Grant had tried to break Lee's lines at Cold Harbor, 
and had been repulsed with great loss. The Richmond news- 
papers were jubilant. " He is floundering in the swamps of 
Chickahominy. He has reached the graveyard of Yankee 
armies," said they. 

The newspapers opposed to the war and in sympathy with 
the Rebellion, in the North, made Cold Harbor an occasion for 
glorifying General McClellan, ♦•their candidate for the Pres- 
idency. 

" Grant is a butcher. He has sacrificed a hundred thou- 
sand lives. He acts under Lincoln's orders. Elect McClellan, 
and we shall have peace." 

The army was dejected, but did not lose heart. It had been 
repulsed, had lost many brave men, but it had pushed Lee from 
the Wilderness to Richmond. 

I conversed freely with the soldiers, and rarely found one 
who had not full confidence in the ability of General Grant. 
Round their bivouac fires the history of the Army of the 
Potomac was freely discussed. The old soldiers, who had 
fought in the first Cold Harbor battle, remembered how twenty- 
seven thousand men held Lee at bay on that ground through 
the long hours of the first of the seven days' fight in front of 
Richmond ; how McClellan kept sixty thousand men on the 
south bank of the Chickahominy, inactive, — sending a brigade 
to their aid when too late to be of use. They recalled the 
scenes of those terrible demoralizing days, — how McClellan 
kept out of harm's way. When the battle was raging on the 
north bank of the Chickahominy he was south of it ; when 
Sumner was holding Savage Station, McClellan was across 
White Oak Swamp ; when Glendale was fought, and the Rebels 
under Hill routed, McClellan was at Malvern, and while Ma- 



352 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

griider was madly pushing his troops on to be slaughtered at 
Malvern, McClellan was on board a gunboat; how in the night 
the whole army was ordered away from a victorious field, from 
an impregnable position, while Lee was fleeing towards Rich- 
mond ! (Soldiers who had come later into the service re- 
membered the failure at Fredericksburg and the retreat from 
Chancellorsville, and in contrast saw that Grant had pluck. It 
is a quality of character which soldiers admire. They could 
also see that there was system in his movements. They some- 
times spoke of him as the Grand Flanker. " He '11 flank Lee 
out of Richmond yet ; see if he don't," said a soldier. 

If Grant had failed to move Lee from his position in a direct 
attack, Lee also had failed to drive Grant from the junction 
of the roads at old Cold Harbor, — an important point, as, 
by opening the railroad from White House, he could easily 
bring up his supplies. His army was intact, — not divided, 
as McClellan's had been by the dark and sluggish Chicka- 
liominy. 

" What will Grant do ? " was a question often discussed 
around the mess-tables of brigadiers, colonels, and captains, — by 
men who were bound to obey all orders, but who nevertheless 
liad their own ideas as to the best method of conducting the 
campaign. The Lieutenant-General had the whole plan of 
operations settled for him many times. It was amusing to see 
the strategic points indicated on the maps. 

" He can swing in north of the city upon the high lands. 
The Cliickahominy swamps don't extend above Mechanicsville," 
said one. 

" But how will he get his supplies ? " 

" Open the Fredericksburg road. It is open now from Aquia 
Creek to the Rappahannock." 

But Grant, instead of opening the road, determined to break 
it up completely, also the Virginia Central, which runs to 
Gordonsville, to prevent Lee from moving upon Washington. 
Up to this time all of his movements, while they were upon 
Lee's flank, had not uncovered that city ; but now Washington 
would take care of itself. 

The plan of the campaign had been well matured by Gen- 
eral Grant before he started from Culpepper. He says : — 



1864.] TO PETERSBURG. 353 

" My idea fi-oin tlie start had been to beat the enemy north of Rich- 
mond if {X)^:sible. Then after destroying his lines of communication 
north of the James River, to transfer the army to the south side, and 
besiege Lee in Richmond, or follow him south if he should retreat." * 

Grant was not willing to sacrifice his men. He resolved to 
transfer his army south of the James, and cut Lee's communi- 
cations. Gregg was sent in advance, with the cavalry belong- 
ing to the Army of the Potomac, crossipg the Chickahominy, 
and making a rapid movement by the I'eft flank. 

Lee evidently did not mistrust Grant's intention, — judging 
from the disposition he made of his troops, and the tardiness 
with which he marched to counteract the movement. The 
transfer of the Eighteenth Corps from Bermuda Hundred to 
Cold Harbor undoubtedly had its effect upon Lee's calculations. 
It was an indication that Grant intended to keep Washington 
covered. 

Hunter at this time was advancing from the West. Sheridan, 
who had been guarding the road to White House, was with- 
drawn, and sent with two divisions of his cavalry up the Virginia 
Central road to Gordonsville, hoping to meet Hunter at Char- 
lottesville ; but Hunter had moved on Lynchburg, and the 
union of the forces was not effected. Sheridan's movement, 
however, threw dust in the eyes of Lee. 

Grant knew that Petersburg was held by a handful of Rebel 
troops, — Wise's Legion. The citizens had been organized into 
a battalion, but the place could be taken by surprise. Strong- 
earthworks had been thrown up around the city early in the 
war, but the troops in the city were not sufficient to man them. 
Grant believed that the pla,ce could be seized without diffi- 
culty ; and taking a steamer at White House went to Bermuda 
Hundred, held a conference with Butler, who sent Gillmore 
with thirty-five hundred men across the Appomattox, near 
the Point of Hocks, to attack the city from the east. At the 
same time, Kautz's division of cavalry was sent, by a long de- 
tour, across the Norfolk Railroad, to enter the town from the 
south. Having made these arrangements, Grant returned to 
his army, which had been lying behind its intrenchments at 
Cold Harbor. 

* Grant's OflScial Keport. 
23 



354 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

Preparations had been quietly making for a rapid march. 
The Second Corps had been moved down towards the Chick- 
ahominy. The Fifth was sent to Despatch Station. Gregg 
and Torbett, with tlieir divisions of cavalry, were placed 
at Bottom's Bridge. The Rebel pickets were there on watch. 
Meanwhile workmen were busily engaged in opening the rail- 
road. Lee must have known that Grant had a new movement 
under way, the precise nature of which it was difficult to under- 
stand. 

The movement of Gillmore was a disgraceful failure. He 
crossed the Appomattox on the evening of the 10th of June, 
without molestation, marched up within sight of the city spires, 
discovered a formidable line of breastworks, and without 
making an attack, turned about and retired to Bermuda Hun- 
dred. Kautz, on the contrary, after a rapid movement, entered 
the city from the south, but Gillmore having retreated, could 
not hold it, and was obliged to retire. 

Grant was justly indignant when he heard of the failure. 
It was a golden opportunity lost. Gillmore and Kautz could 
have taken and held the place till the arrival of reinforcements. 
Gillmore was wholly responsible for the failure. Grant once 
more hurried to Bermuda Hundred, to superintend in a second 
movement, leaving Meade to conduct the army from Cold Har- 
bor to the James. 

The grand movement from the north of Richmond, by which 
the whole army was placed south of that city, was begun on 
the 12th, in the evening. Wilson's division of cavalry was 
thrown across the Chickahominy, and sent to seize Long 
Bridge in White Oak Swamp. The Fifth Corps followed. 
The Rebels struck the Fifth Corps in flank, but Crawford re- 
pulsed them. The Second Corps followed the Fifth. The 
Sixth and Ninth crossed at Jones's Bridge, while the fifty miles 
of wagon trains swung far to the east and crossed the swamp 
fifteen miles below. Gregg covered the flank of the army with 
his cavalry, concealing the movement. The men had a hard 
time, being attacked constantly by the Rebel cavalry and in- 
fantry. It was of the utmost importance to Lee to know where 
Grant intended to strike, whether north of the James, by the 
Charles City and New Market roads, or across the James at 



1864.] TO PETEESBURG. 355 

Dutch Gap, joining his forces with Butler's, or whether his 
movement was directly upon Petersburg. 

Lee moved on the inner circle with great caution. 

The Eighteenth Corps took water transportation from White 
House, and arrived at Bermuda Hundred at midnight on the 
14th. Grant was there. He ordered General Smith to pro- 
ceed at once against Petersburg. If successful in the seizure 
of that place, Lee would be compelled to leave Richmond. It 
was in the line of his direct communication with the South. 
Losing that place, he would have only the Danville road, and 
Grant would soon deprive him of that. The Appomattox 
would be Grant's line of defence. Seizing it Grant could bide 
his time. He could become a patient watcher, and Lee would 
be a victim to circumstances. 

Grant was quick to see the advantages to be gained. Lee 
was slower in arriving at a perception of the fatal consequen- 
ces to himself which would result from the loss of the place ; 
but when awakened to a sense of his danger, acted with great 
energy. On the other hand, Smith, who was intrusted with 
the execution of the enterprise, was dilatory in the execution. 
Birney in part is to be held responsible for the delay in the 
execution of the order. 

" Push on and capture the place at all hazards ! You shall 
have the whole army to reinforce you," said Grant to Smith. 
Grant was in such haste to have Smith move, that he did not 
stop to write the order. He believed that Smith could reach 
Petersburg before Lee could make his detour through Eich- 
mond. 

A. P. Hill had already been thrown south of Richmond, and 
was in front of Butler. The scouts up the Appomattox re- 
ported the rumbling of heavy trains along the Richmond and 
Petersburg railroad. Lee was putting his troops into the cars. 
The dash of Kautz, and the movement of Gillmore up to the 
entrenchments, and his retirement without an attack, had re- 
sulted in the manning of the Petersburg batteries. A brigade 
had been thrown down towards City Point, five miles from 
Petersburg. Soon after daylight the cavalry came upon the 
Rebel pickets, by the City Point railroad, beyond which they 
found the Rebels with two cannon behind rifle-pits, in the 
centre of an open field on Bailey's farm. 



356 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

Hinks's division of the Eighteenth Corps was composed of 
colored troops, who had never been under fire. Would they 
fight ? That was the important question. After a reconnois- 
sance of the position by General Hinks, the troops were formed 
for an assault. The Rebel cannon opened. The sons of Africa 
did not flinch, but took their positions with deliberation. They 
had been slaves ; they stood face to face with their former mas- 
ters, or with their representatives. The flag in front of them 
waving in the morning breeze was the emblem of oppression ; 
the banner above them was the flag of the free. Would an 
a])ject, servile race, kept in chains four thousand years, assert 
their manhood ? Interesting the problem. Their brothers had 
given the lie to the assertion of the white man, that negroes 
would n't fight, at Wagner and Port Hudson. Would they 
falter ? 

The Rebels were on a knoll in the field, and had a clear 
sweep of all the approaches. The advancing troops must come 
out from the woods, rush up the slope, and carry it at the point 
of the bayonet, receiving the tempest of musketry and canister. 

Hinks deployed his line. At the word of command the 
colored men stepped out from the woods, and stood before the 
enemy. They gave a volley, and received one in return. Shells 
crashed through them, but, unheeding the storm, with a yell 
they started up the slope upon the run. They received one 
charge of canister, one scathing volley of musketry. Seventy 
of their number went down, but the living hundreds rushed 
on. The Rebels did not wait their coming, but fled towards 
Petersburg, leaving one of the pieces of artillery in the hands 
of their assailants, who leaped over the works, turned it in a 
twinkling, but were not able to fire upon the retreating foe, 
fleeing in consternation towards the main line of entrenchments 
two miles east of the city. 

The colored troops were wild with joy. They embraced the 
captured cannon with affectionate enthusiasm, patting it as if 
it were animate, and could appreciate the endearment. 

" Every soldier of the colored division was two inches taller 
for that achievement," said an officer describing it. These 
regiments were the Fifth and Twenty-Second United States 
colored troops, who deserve honorable mention in history. 



1864.] TO PETEKSBURG. 357 

Brooks's diyision. now moved up. Martindale was approach- 
ing Petersburg by the river road. By noon the whole corps 
was in front of the main line of works. Martindale was on 
the right, by the river, Brooks in the centre, Hinks on the 
left, with Kautz's division of cavalry sweeping down to the 
Jerusalem road, which enters Petersburg from the southeast. 

Smith delayed unaccountably to make the attack. It was 
a priceless moment. A reconnoissance showed a line of strong 
works, in which were eighteen pieces of field artillery. The 
forts were well built, and connected with breastworks, but the 
Rebels had not soldiers enough to man them. The citizens of 
Petersburg had been called out to hold the town. It is evi- 
dent that Smith might just as well have accomplished at one 
o'clock what was achieved at sunset. He was a brave officer, 
fearless in battle, an engineer of ability, reckless of danger, 
but failed to see the necessity of impetuous action. The value 
of time was left out of his calculations. 

General Grant thus speaks of Smith's operations : — 

" General Smith got off as directed, and confronted the enemy's pick- 
ets near Petersburg before daylight next morning, but for some reason 
that I have never been able to satisfactorily understand, did not get 
ready to assault his main lines until near sundown. Then, with a part 
of his command only, he made the assault, and carried the lines north- 
east of Petersburg from the Appomattox River, for a distance of over 
two and a half miles, capturing fifteen pieces of artillery and three 
hundred prisoners. This was about seven P. M." * 

The main road leading east from Petersburg ascends a hill 
two miles out, upon the top of which stands the house of Mr. 
Dunn. The house is a few rods south of the road. In front 
of it is a fort ; another south ; a third north, and other works, 
with heavy embankments and deep ditches. The woods in 
front of the house of Mr, Dunn were cut down in 1862, 
when McClellan was on the Peninsula, and the trunks of the 
trees, blackened by fire, are lying there still, forming an abatis. 
The ground is nearly level, and the Rebel riflemen have a 
fair view of the entire field. It is three hundred and sixty 
paces from the forts to the woods, in the edge of which Hinks's 

* Grant's Report. 



358 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

division of colored troops are lying. The guns in the forts by 
the house of Mr. Dunn give a direct front fire, while those by 
the house of Mr. Osborn on the north enfilade the line. Brooks 
is in position to move upon the batteries by Osborn's house, 
while Martindale is to advance up the railroad. 

The troops were placed in line for the attack not far from 
one o'clock. They were exposed to the fire of the artillery. 
Hinks impatiently waited for orders. Two o'clock passed. 
The shells from the Rebel batteries were doing damage. 

" Lie down ! " said he to his men. They obeyed, and were 
somewhat sheltered. 

Three o'clock ! four o'clock, — five, — still no orders. Dun- 
can's brigade was lying on both sides of the road, a short 
distance north of Buffum's house. 

At length the word was given. Duncan threw forward a 
cloud of skirmishers. The Rebels opened with renewed vigor 
from the batteries ; and the infantry, resting their muskets 
over the breastworks, fired at will and with great accuracy 
of aim. Men dropped from the advancing ranks. It was of 
little use to fire in return. " On ! push on ! " was the order, 
Hinks and Duncan both entered heartily into the movement. 
They had chafed all the afternoon at the delay ; but had been 
admiring observers of the conduct of the troops under the fire 
of shells. 

The skirmishers advanced quickly within close range, fol- 
lowed by the main line, moving more slowly over the fallen 
timber. The skirmishers gave a yell and pushed on, without 
waiting for the main body. They leaped into the ditches in 
front of the breastworks, and climbed on their hands and knees 
up the steep embankments. The Rebels above fired into their 
faces, and many a brave fellow rolled back dead to the bottom. 

The column, perceiving the advance of their comrades, and 
catching the enthusiasm, broke into a run, rushing upon the 
forts, sweeping round the curtains, scaling the breastworks, 
and dashing madly at the Rebels, who fled towards Petersburg. 
Brooks's men at the same moment swarmed over the embank- 
ments by Osborn's, while Martindale advanced along the rail- 
road. Fifteen pieces and three hundred men were captured, 
of which two thirds of the prisoners and nine cannon were 



1864.] TO PETERSBURG. 359 

taken by the colored troops, who wheeled the guns instantly 
upon the enemy, and then, seizing the spades and shovels 
which the Rebels had left behind, reversed the fortifications 
and made them a stronghold. 

Through the months which followed the colored troops 
looked back to this exploit with pride. They never were weary 
of talking about it, — how they advanced, how they leaped 
over the intrenchments, how the Rebels went down the hill 
upon the run. 

Smith had possession of the fortifications at 7 P. M. He 
ought to have moved on. There were no other works between 
him and Petersburg. Not a brigade from Lee had reached the 
city, and the disaster was calcidated to demoralize the Rebel 
soldiers. The Second Corps had arrived. Birney, who had 
the advance of that corps, ought to have been on the ground 
by mid-afternoon, and Smith had delayed the assault on his 
account. He expected Birney to appear on his left, and attack 
by the Jerusalem plank-road ; but that ofhcer, by taking the 
wrong road, went several miles out of his way. Had he been 
in position at the time Smith expected him, the attack would 
have been made at 3 o'clock instead of at 7. 

Smith's delay to follow up the advantage gained was an error. 
General Grant says : — 

" Between the line thus captured and Petersburg there were no other 
works, and there was no evidence that the enemy had reinforced Peters- 
burg with a single brigade from any source. The night was clear, — 
the moon shining brightly, — and favorable to further operations. Gen- 
eral Hancock, with two divisions of the Second Corps, had reached 
General Smith just after dark, and offered the service of these troops 
as he (Smith) might wish, waiving rank to the named commander, who, 
he naturally supposed, knew best the position of affairs. But instead 
of taking these troops and pushing on at once into Petersburg, he re- 
quested General Hancock to relieve a part of his Mne in the captured 
works, which was done before midnight." * 

Not till the Rebel outpost on Bailey's farm fell into the hands 
of the colored troops did Lee fully comprehend Grant's move- 
ment. Then there were lively movements in the Rebel ranks. 
All of the railroad cars in Richmond were put upon the road. 

* Grant's Report. 



360 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

Brigades were hurried through the streets, piled into the cars, 
and sent whirling towards Petersburg. 

While Lee was watching the Charles City and Newmarket 
roads, north of the James, expecting Grant in that direction, 
Butler sent General Terry, with a portion of the Tenth Corps, 
on a reconnoissance in front of Bermuda Hundred. Terry en- 
countered the Rebel pickets, drove them in, reached the main 
line, attacked vigorously, broke through, carrying all before 
him, and pushed on to the railroad at Port Walthall Junction, 
cut down the telegraph, and tore up the track. 

This was an advantage not expected by Grant, who at once 
ordered two divisions of the Sixth Corps, under Wright, to 
report to Butler at Bermuda Hundred ; but that officer, instead 
of moving rapidly, advanced leisurely, and even halted awhile. 

Terry was attacked by A. P. Hill and obliged to fall back. 
Grant had the mortification of learning in the evening that, 
through the dilatory movements of the troops under Smith 
and Wright, his plans had failed. 

In the counsels of the Almighty the time for final victory 
had not come. God reigns, but men act freely nevertheless. 
There have been numerous instances during the war where 
great events hung on little things. An interesting chapter 
might be written of the occasions where the scales were seem- 
ingly evenly balanced, and where, to the eye of faith, the breath 
of the Almighty turned them for the time. 

At Bull Run the victory was lost to the Union arms through 
the mistake of Captain Barry.* At Pittsburg Landing, if John- 
ston had attacked from the northwest instead of the southwest, 
— if he had deflected his army a mile, — far different, in all 
human probability, would have been the result of that battle. 

Wa-s the arrival of the Monitor in Hampton Roads on that 
morning, after the havoc made by the Merrimac, accidental ? 
How providential rather ! How singular, if not a providence, 
that the wind should blow so wildly from the southwest on that 
night of the withdrawal of the army from Fredericksburg, waft- 
ing the rumbling of Burnside's artillery and the tramp of a 
hundred thousand men away from the listening ears of the 

* See " My Days and Nights on the Battle-Field " ; also testimony of Captain 
Ricketts and Captain Griffin, in Report of Committee on Conduct of the War. 



1864.] TO PETERSBURG. 361 

enemy within close musket-shot ! Events which turn the scales 
according to our desires we are inclined to count as special 
providences : but the disaster at Bull Run, the sitting down of 
McClellan in the mud at Yorktown ; the lost opportunities for 
moving upon Richmond after Williamsburg and Fair Oaks ; 
also, while the battle was raging at Gaines's Mills and at Glen- 
dale ; the pusillanimous retreat from Malvern ; the inaction at 
Antietam; Hooker's retreat from Chancellors ville, — from Lee, 
who also was in retreat, — are inexplicable events. Meade's 
waiting at Boonsboro, Lee's escape, Gillmore's unexplained 
turning back from Petersburg, Wright's halting when every- 
thing depended on haste. Smith's delay, — all of these are mys- 
terious providences to us, though to the Rebels they were at the 
time plain interpositions of God. God's system is reciprocal ; 
everything has its use, everything is for a purpose. We read 
blindly, but to reason and faith there can be but one result, — 
the establishment of justice and righteousness between man 
and man and his Maker. There must be a righting of every 
wrong, an atonement for every crime. 

" The laws of changeless justice bind 
Oppressor with oppressed ; 
And, close as sin and suffering joined, 
We march to fate abreast." 

It must have been evident to most observers, that as the war 
progressed men were brought to a recognition of God, as an 
overruling power in the mighty conflict. In the first uprising 
of the people there was pure, intense patriotism. The battle of 
Bull Run stung the loyal masses of the North, and filled them 
with a determination to redeem their tarnished honor. The 
failure of the Peninsular campaigns, the terrible disasters in 
1862, crushed and bruised men's spirits. They began to talk 
of giving freedom to the slave as well as of the restoration of 
the Union. 

" My paramount object is to save the Union, and not either 
to save or destroy slavery," wrote President Lincoln to Horace 
Greeley, August 22d, 1862, reflecting doubtless the feelings of 
nearly a majority of the people. Whittier had already ex- 
pressed, in the lines quoted on pages 41, 42, the feelings of those 
who saw that slavery or the nation must die. 



362 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Juue, 

Two years passed, and Abraham Lincoln gave utterance to 
other sentiments in his second inaugural address to the people. 
Disaster, suffering, a view of Gettysburg battle-field, the conse- 
cration of that cemetery as the hallowed resting-place of the 
patriotic dead, had given him a clear insight of God's truth. 
Thus spoke he from the steps of the Capitol : — 

" The Almighty has his own purposes. Woe unto the world because 
of offences ! for it must needs be that offences come ; but woe to that 
man by whom the offence cometh ! If we shall suppose that American 
slavery is one of these offences, which in the providence of God must 
needs come, but which, having continued through his appointed time, he 
now wills to remove, and that he gives to both North and South this 
terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall 
we discern therein any departure from those Divine attributes which 
the believers in a living God always ascribe to him ? Fondly do we 
hope, fervently do we pray, that the mighty scourge of war may speed- 
ily pass away. Yet if God wills that it continue until all the wealth 
piled by the bondman's two hundred aud fifty years of unrequited toil 
shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall 
be paid by another drawn by the sword, as was said three thousand 
years ago, so still must it be said, the judgments of the Lord are true 
and righteous altogether." 

It was the recognition of these principles that made the peo- 
ple patient under the severe afflictions, the disasters, the fail- 
ures. Fathers and mothers, weeping for their sons slain in bat- 
tle, said to their hearts, " Be still ! " for they saw that God was 
leading the people, through suffering, to recognize justice and 
righteousness as the Republic, — that thus he was saving the 
nation from perdition. 

The heroism of the colored soldiers, and their splendid 
achievements, won the respect of the army. Their patriotism 
was as sublime, their courage as noble, as that of their whiter- 
hued comrades boasting Anglo-Saxon blood, nurtured and re- 
fined by centuries of civilization. 

On the morning after the battle, an officer, passing through 
the hospital, came upon a colored soldier who had lost his left 
leg. 

" Well, my boy, I see that you have lost a leg for glory," 
said the officer. 



1864.] TO petersbur'g. 363 

" No, sir ; I have not lost it for glory, hut for the elevation of 
my race!'''' 

It was a reply worthy of liistoric record, to be read, through 
the coming centuries, by every sable son of Africa, and by every 
man, of whatever lineage or clime, struggling to better his 
condition. 

The negroes manifested their humanity as well as their pa- 
triotism. 

" While the battle was raging," said General Hinks, " I saw 
two wounded negroes helping a Rebel prisoner, who was more 
severely wounded, to the rear." 

" Give the water to my suffering soldiers," said the wounded 
Philip Sidney. The incident stands upon the historic page, 
and has been rehearsed in story and song, as worthy of ad-, 
miration. Shall not this act of two unknown colored soldiers 
also have a place in history ? 

The time, we trvist, will come when men will be rated for 
what they are worth, — when superiority will consist, not in 
brute force, but in moral qualities. The slaveholders of the 
South, at the beginning of the war, esteemed themselves supe- 
rior to the men of the North, and immeasurably above their 
slaves; but in contrast, — to the shame of the slaveholders, — 
stands the massacre at Fort Pillow and the humanity of the 
colored soldiers in front of Petersburg. 

On the night of the 16th, Burnside arrived with the Ninth 
Corps. Neill's division of the Sixth also arrived. Burn- 
side attacked the Rebels, but was repulsed. The lines were 
reconnoitred, and it was determined to make a second as- 
sault. 

About half a mile south of the house of Mr. Dunn was the 
residence of Mr. Shand, held by the Rebels. During the can- 
nonade which preceded the assault, a Rebel officer entered the 
house and sat down to play a piano. Suddenly he found him- 
self sitting on the floor, the stool havuig been knocked away by 
a solid shot, without injury to himself. 

The house was a large two-story structure, fronting east, 
painted white, with great chimneys at either end, shaded by 
buttonwoods and gum-trees, with a peach-orchard in rear. 
Fifty paces from the front-door was a narrow ravine, fifteen 



364 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

or twenty feet deep, with a brook, fed by springs, trickling 
northward. West of the house, about the same distance, was 
another brook, the two joining about twenty rods north of the 
house. A Rebel brigade held this tongue of land, with four 
guns beneath the peach-trees. Their main line of breastworks 
was along the. edge of the ravine east of the house. South, and 
on higher ground, was a redan, — a strong work with two 
guns, which enfiladed the ravine. Yet General Burnside 
thought that if he could get his troops into position, unper- 
ceived, he could take the tongue of land, which would break 
the Rebel line and compel them to evacuate the redan. Several 
attempts had been made by the Second Corps to break the line 
farther north, but without avail. This movement, if not suc- 
cessful, would be attended with great loss ; nevertheless, it was 
determined to make the assault. 

It was past midnight when General Potter led his division 
of the Ninth down into the ravine. The soldiers threw aside 
their knapsacks, haversacks, tin plates and cups, and moved 
stealthily. Not a word was spoken. The watches of the officers 
in command had been set to a second. They reached the ravine 
where the pickets were stationed, and moved south, keeping 
close under the bank. Above them, not fifteen paces distant, 
were the Rebel pickets, lying behind a bank of sand. 

If their listening ears caught the sound of a movement in 
the ravine, they gave no alarm, and the troops took their posi- 
tions undisturbed. The moon was full. Light clouds floated 
in the sky. Not a sound, save the distant rumble of wagons, 
or an occasional shot from the pickets, broke the silence of the 
night. The attacking column was composed of Griffin's and 
Curtin's brigades, — Griffin on the right. He had the Seven- 
teenth Vermont and Eleventh New Hampshire in his front 
line, and the Ninth New Hampshire and Thirty-Second Maine 
in the second. Curtin had six regiments, — the Forty-Fifth, 
Thirty-Sixth, and Forty-Eighth Massachusetts in his front line ; 
the Seventh Rhode Island, Twelfth New York, and Fifty-Eighth 
Massachusetts m his second line. 

The soldiers were worn with hard marching and constant 
fighting, and had but just arrived from City Point, yet they 
took their positions without flinching. The officers gazed at 



1864.] 



TO PETERSBURG. 



365 




the hands of their watches 
ill the moonlight, and saw 
them move on to the ap- 
pointed time, — fifteen min- 
utes past tliree. Twenty 
paces, — a spring up the 
steep bank would carry the 
men to the Rebel pickets ; 
fifty paces to the muzzles 
of the enemy's guns. 

" All ready ! " was whis- 
pered from man to man. 
They rose from the ground 
erect. Not a gun-lock 
clicked. The bayonet was to do the work. 

''^Hurrah! " The lines rise like waves of the sea. There are 
straggling shots from the Rebel pickets, four flashes of light 
from the Rebel cannon by the house, two more from the redan, 
one volley from the infantry, wildly aimed, doing little damage. 
On, — up to the breastworks ! Over them, seizing the guns ! A 
minute has passed. Four guns, six hundred and fifty prison- 
ers, fifteen hundred muskets, and four stands of colors are the 
trophies. The Rebel line is broken. The great point is gained, 
compelling Lee to abandon the ground which he has held so 
tenaciously. 

In the Fifty-Seventh Massachusetts was a soldier named 
Edward M. Schneider. When the regiment was formed he 
was a student in Phillips Academy, Andover. From motives 
of patriotism, against the wishes of friends, he left the literature 
of the ancients and the history of the past, to becomS an actor 
in the present and to do what he could for future good. His 
father is the well-known missionary of the American Board at 
Aintab, Turkey. 

On the march from Annapolis, though but seventeen years 
old, and unaccustomed to hardship, he kept his place in the 
ranks, from the encampment by the waters of the Chesapeake 
to the North Anna, where he was slightly wounded. The sur- 
geons sent him to Port Royal for transportation to Washington, 
but of his own accord he returned to his regiment, joining it at 



366 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

Cold Harbor. Wliile preparing for the charge upon the enemy's 
works, on the 17th instant, he said to the chaplain, — 

" I intend to be the first one to enter their breastworks." 

The brave young soldier tried to make good his words, 
leading the charge. 

He was almost there, — not quite : almost near enough 
to feel the hot flash of the Rebel musketry in his face; near 
enough to be covered with sulphurous clouds from the cannon, 
when he fell, shot through the body. 

He was carried to the hospital, with six hundred and fifty of 
his division comrades ; but lay all night with his wound un- 
dressed, waiting his turn without a murmur. The chaplain 
looked at his wound. 

" What do you think of it ? " 

Seeing that it was mortal, the chaplain was overcome with 
emotion. He remembered the last injunction of the young 
soldier's sister : " I commit him to your care." 

The young hero interpreted the meaning of the tears, — that 
there was no hope. 

" Do not weep," said he ; " it is God's will. I wish you to 
write to my father, and tell him that I have tried to do my duty 
to my country and to God." 

He disposed of his. few efiects, giving ten dollars to the 
Christian Commission, twenty dollars to the American Board, 
and trifles to his friends. Then, in the simplicity of his heart, 
said, — 

" I have a good many friends, schoolmates, and companions. 
They will want to know where I am, — how I am getting on. 
You can let them know that I am gone, and that I die content. 
And, chaplain, the boys in the regiment, — I want you to tell 
them to stand by the dear old flag ! And there is my brother 
in the navy, — write to him and tell him to stand by the flag 
and cling to the cross of Christ ! " 

The surgeon examined the wound. 

" It is my duty to tell you that you will soon go home," 
said he. 

" Yes, doctor, I am going home. I am not afraid to die. I 
don't know how the valley will be when I get to it, but it is all 
bright now." 



1864.] TO PETERSBURG. 367 

Then, gathering up his waning strength, he repeated the 
verse often sung by the soldiers, who, amid all the whirl and 
excitement of the camp and battle-field, never forget those 
whom they have left behind them, — mother, sister, father, 
brother. Calmly, clearly, distinctly he repeated the lines, — 
the chorus of the song : 

" Soon with angels I '11 be marching, 
With bright laurels on my brow ; 
I have for my country fallen, — 
Who will care for sister now ? " 

The night wore away. Death stole on. He suffered in- 
tense pain, but not a murmur escaped his lips. Sabbath 
morning dawned, and with the coming of the light he passed 
away. 

"I die content," said Wolfe, at Quebec, when told that the 
French were fleeing. 

" Stand up for Jesus," said Dudley Tyng, in his last hours : 
words which have warmed and moved thousands of Christian 
hearts. 

" Let me die with my face to the enemy," was the last 
request of General Rice, Christian, soldier, and patriot, at 
Spottsylvania ; but equally worthy of remembrance are the 
words of Edward M. Schneider, — boy, student, youthful leader 
of the desperate charge at Petersburg, They are the essence 
of all that Wolfe and Tyng and Rice uttered in their last mo- 
ments. His grave is near the roadside, marked by a rude 
paling. The summer breeze sweeps through the sighing pines 
above the heaved-up mound. Mournful, yet sweet, the music 
of the wind-harp ; — mournful, in that one so young, so full 
of life and hope and promise, should go so soon ; sweet, in 
that he did his work so nobly. Had he lived a century he 
could . not have completed it more thoroughly or faithfully. 
His was a short soldier's life, extending only from the peace- 
ful shades of Andover to the intrenchments of Petersburg; 
but 0, how full ! 

Will the tree of Liberty prematurely decay, if nourished by 
such life-giving blood ? It is costly, but the fruit is precious. 
For pain and anguish, waste and desolation, we have such rich 
recompense as this, — such examples of patriotic ardor, heroic 



368 



FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[June,! 



daring, and Christian fortitude, that make men nobler, nations 
greater, and the world better by their contemplation. 

I have stood by the honored dust of those whose names are 
great in history, whose deeds and virtues are commemorated 
in brass and marble, who were venerated while living and 
mourned when dead; but never have I felt a profounder rev- 
erence for departed worth than for this young Christian sol- 
dier, uncoffined, unshrouded, wrapped only in his blanket, 
and sleeping serenely beneath the evergreen pines. 

His last words — the messages to his comrades, to his father, 
and his brother — are worthy to live so long as the flag of our 
country shall wave or the cross of Christ endure, 

" Stand up for the dear old flag and cling to the cross of 
Christ ! " They are the emblems of all our hopes for time and 
eternity. Short, full, rounded, complete his life. Triumphant, 
glorious his death ! 



Grant determined to assault all along the line on the morning 
of the 18th, as nearly the entire army had arrived. Lee, how- 
ever, fell back during the night to a new position nearer the city. 

But the attack was made. The 
Eighteenth, Second, and Sixth Corps 
gained no advantage ; but the Ninth 
and Fiftli drove the Rebels across the 
Norfolk Railroad, and reached the Je- 
rusalem plank-road. The position of 
the besieging army is shown by the 
accompanying diagram. 

On the 21st of June Grant attempt- 
ed to take the Weldon Railroad with 
the Second and Sixth Corps, but was 
opposed by the Rebels on Davis's farm, beyond the Jerusalem 
road, and a battle ensued. 

The engagement was renewed the next day. There was a gap 
in the lines, of which A. P. Hill took advantage, and attacked 
Barlow's division in flank. A severe struggle followed, in 
which Gibbon's division lost four guns. The battle was contin- 
ued on the 23d, but no farther progress was made. The troops 
had been fighting, marching, or building breastworks for forty- 




1864.] TO PETERSBURG. 369 

seven days, without interruption. Daily and nightly, from the 
Rapidan to the Weldon road, they had been in constant action. 
The troops were exhausted. Grant had lost seventy thousand. 
The reinforcements which had reached him were inexperi- 
enced. Men when physically prostrated are indifferent to com- 
mands. Discipline becomes lax. Hundreds of efficient officers 
had fallen during the campaign. Brigades were commanded 
by majors, regiments by captains, companies by corporals. The 
army needed thorough reorganization. The right of the line 
was sufficiently near to Petersburg to commence siege opera- 
tions. Intrenchments were accordingly thrown up and guns 
mounted, and the army enjoyed comparative rest. But it was a 
rest under fire, day and night, the Ninth and Eighteenth Corps 
especially being constantly harassed by the enemy, who were 
bitterly opposed to the employment of colored troops. It was 
systematic hostility, — ingrained, revengeful, relentless. They 
would not recognize or treat them as prisoners of war. Slavery 
long before had proclaimed that black men had no rights which 
white men were bound to respect. For them was no mercy ; 
only the fate of their compatriots at Fort Pillow awaited them, 
if taken in arms against their former masters, though wearing 
the uniform of the republic which had given them freedom and 
sent them to battle. 

There was a tacit understanding between the soldiers of the 
Fifth and the enemy in front of them that there should be no 
picket-firing. They filled their canteens at the same spring 
and had friendly conversations. But not so in front of the 
Ninth, in which thirty were wounded or killed every twenty- 
four hours. Such was the unnecessary sacrifice of life to this 
Moloch of our generation ! There were those in the army, as 
well as out of it, who were not willing that the colored soldier 
should be recognized as a man. 

" The negroes ought not to be allowed to fight," said a Massa- 
chusetts captain to me. 

" Why not, sir ? " 

" Because the Rebels hate us for making them soldiers," was 
the reply ; and adding, dubiously, " I don't know but that the 
negroes have souls ; but I look upon them as a lower order of 
beings than ourselves." 

24 



370 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

The old prejudice remained. We were not willing to deal 
fairly. We asked the negro to help fight our battles, but we 
were willing to pay him only half a soldier's wages, as if we 
feared this simple act of justice might be construed as an ac- 
knowledgment of his social as well as political equality. 

Through all the weary months of fighting and exposure the 
wants of tlie soldiers were greatly relieved by the Sanitary and 
Christian Commissions. The warm-hearted people in the North 
never ceased their contributions. The machinery of both those 
excellent organizations was so perfect that the soldiers had quick 
relief. 

The power of any force — moral and religious as well as me- 
chanical — is in proportion to the directness of its application. 
I recall, in this connection, a hot, dry, sultry day. The sun 
shone from a brazen sky. The grass and shrubs were scorched, 
withered, and powdered with dust, which rose in clouds behind 
every passing wagon. Even the aspens were motionless, and 
there was not air enough to stir the long, lithe needles of the 
pines. The birds of the forest sought the deepest shade, and 
hushed even their twitter. It was difficult for men in robust 
health to breathe, and they picked out the coolest places and 
gave themselves up to the languor of the hour. It required an 
earnest effort to do anything. Yet through this blazing day 
men crouched in the trenches from morning till night, or lay 
in their shallow rifle-pits, watching the enemy, - — parched, 
broiled, burned, not daring to raise their heads or lift their 
hands. To do so was to suffer death or wounds. 

The hospital tents, though pitched in the woods, were like 
ovens, absorbing and holding the heat of the sun, whose rays 
the branches of the trees but partially excluded. Upon the 
ground lay the sick and wounded, fevered and sore, with ener- 
gies exhausted, perspiration oozing from their faces, nerves 
quivering and trembling, pulses faint and feeble, and life ebb- 
ing away. Their beds were pine boughs. They lay as they 
came from the battle-field, wearing their soiled, torn, and 
bloody garments, and tantalized by myriads of flies. 

The surgeons in charge were kind-hearted and attentive. 
They used all means in their power to make their patients com- 
fortable. Was this the place where the sick were to regain 



1864.] TO PETERSBURG. 371 

their health, far from home and friends ! With nothing to 
cheer them, hope was dying out, and despondency setting in ; 
and memory, ever busy, was picturing the dear old home scenes, 
so painfully in contrast with their dismal present. 

It was the Sabbath, and there were many among the suf- 
fering thousands who had been accustomed to observe the day 
as one of worship and rest from toil and care. In imagination 
they heard the pealing of church-bells, the grand and solemn 
music of the organ, or the hum of children's voices in the Sab- 
bath school. 

There were no clouds to shut out the sun, but the brazen 
dome of the sky glowed with steady heat. The Christian Com- 
mission tent had been besieged all day by soldiers, who wanted 
onions, pickles, lemons, oranges, — anything sour, anything to 
tempt the taste. A box of oranges had been brought from City 
Point the night before. It was suggested that they be dis- 
tributed at once to the sick and wounded. " Certainly, by all 
means," was the unanimous voice of the Commission. I volun- 
teered to be the distributor. 

Go with me through the tents of the sufferers. Some are 
lying down, with eyes closed, faces pale, and cheeks sunken. 
The paleness underlies the bronze which the sun has burned 
upon them. Some are half reclining on their elbows, bolstered 
by knapsacks, and looking into vacancy, — thinking, perhaps, 
of home and kin, and wondering if they will ever see them 
again. Others are reading papers which delegates of the Com- 
mission have distributed. Some of the poor fellows have but 
one leg ; others but the stump of a thigh or an arm, with the 
lightest possible dressing to keep down the fever. Yesterday 
those men, in the full tide of life, stood in the trenches con- 
fronting the enemy. Now they are shattered wrecks, having, 
perhaps, wife and children or parents dependent upon them ; 
with no certainty of support for themselves even but the small 
bounty of government, which they have earned at such fearful 
sacrifice. But their future will be brightened with the proud 
consciousness of duty done and country saved, — the surviving 
soldier's chief recompense for all the toil and suffering and 
privation of the camp and field. 

As we enter the tent they catch a sight of the golden fruit. 



372 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

There is a commotion. Those half asleep rub their eyes, those 
partially reclining sit up, those lying with their backs toward 
us turn over to see what is going on, those so feeble that they 
cannot move ask what is the matter. They gaze wistfully at 
our luscious burden. Their eyes gleam, but not one of them 
asks for an orange. They wait. Through the stern discipline 
of war they have learned to be patient, to endure, to remain in 
suspense, to stand still and be torn to pieces. They are true 
heroes ! 

" Would you like an orange, sir ? " 

" Thank you." 

It is all he can say. He is lying upon his back. A minnie 
bullet has passed through his body, and he cannot be moved. 
He has a noble brow, a manly countenance. Tears moisten his 
eyes and roll down his smiken cheeks as he takes it from my 
hand. 

" It is a gift of the Christian Commission, and I accept your 
thanks for those who made the contribution." 

" Bully for the Christian Commission," shouts a wide-awake, 
jolly soldier, near by, with an ugly wound in his left arm. 

" Thank you," " God bless the Commission," " I say, Bill, 
are n't they bully ? " are the expressions I hear behind me. 

In one of the wards I came upon a soldier who had lost his 
leg the day before. He was lying upon his side ; he was ro- 
bust, healthy, strong, and brave. The hours dragged heavily. 
I stood before him, and yet he did not see me. He was stab- 
bing his knife into a chip, with nervous energy, trying to forget 
the pain, to bridge over the lonely hours, and shut the gloom 
out of the future. I touched his elbow ; he looked up. 

" Would you like an orange ? " 

" By jingo ! that is worth a hundred dollars ! " 

He grasped it as a drowning man clutches a chip. 

" Where did this come from ? " 

" The Christian Commission had a box arrive last night." 

" The Christian Commission ? My wife belongs to that. She 
wrote to me about it last week, — that they met to make shirts 
for the Commission." 

" Then you have a wife ? " 

" Yes, sir, and three children." 



1864.] TO PETERSBUEG. 373 

His voice faltered. Ah ! the soldier never forgets home. 
He dashed away a tear, took in a long breath, and was strong 
again. 

" Where do you hail from, soldier ? " 

" From old Massachusetts. I had a snug little home upon 
the banks of the Connecticut ; but I told my wife that I did n't 
feel just right to stay there, when I was ijer ded out here, and 
so I came, and here I am. I shall write hoi 'e, and tell Mary 
about the Christian Commission. I have been wishing all day 
that I had an orange ; I knew it was no use to wish. I did n't 
suppose there was one in camp ; besides, here I am, not able to 
move a peg. I thank you, sir, for bringing it. I shall tell my 
wife all about it." 

These expressions of gratitude were not indifferent utteran- 
ces of courtesy, but came from full hearts. Those sun-burned 
sufferers recognized the religion of Jesus in the gift. The 
Christian religion, thus exemplified, was not a cold abstraction, 
but a reality, providing for the health of the body as well as 
the soul. It was easy to converse with those men concerning 
their eternal well-being. They could not oppose a Christianity 
that manifested such regard for their bodily comfort. Such a 
religion commended itself to their hearts and understandings. 
Thus the Commission became a great missionary enterprise. 
Farina, oranges, lemons, onions, pickles, comfort-bags, shirts, 
towels, given and distributed in the name of Jesus, though de- 
signed for the body, gave strength to the soul. To the quick- 
ened senses of a wounded soldier parched with fever, far from 
home and friends, an onion was a stronger argument for the re- 
ligion which bestowed it than the subtle reasoning of Renan, 
and a pickle sharper than the keenest logic of Colenso ! 

Visiting Washington one day, I passed through several of 
the hospitals, and was present when the delegates came to the 
head-quarters of the Commission and narrated their experiences 
of the day. About fifty were present. Their work was wash- 
ing and dressing wounds, aiding the sick and wounded in every 
way possible, distributing reading matter, writing letters for 
those unable to write, with religious exercises and conversation. 
No delegate was allowed to give jellies or wines as food, or to 
hold meetings in any ward, without permission of the surgeon 



374 FOUR YEARS OF nGHTiNG. [June, 

in charge, which usually was granted. It was a rule of the 
Commission, and not of the Medical Department. The design 
was to do everything possible for the good of the men, and 
nothing for their hurt. One delegate said that he found fully 
one third of the men in his wards professing Christians. They 
were glad to see him, and rejoiced to obtain religious reading. 
A few days before he had given an old man a book entitled the 
" Blood of Jesus." ' 

" I have found Jesus, and 0, he is so precious ! " said the 
old soldier. 

Another delegate said : " I found among the patients a min- 
ister who enlisted as a private. He has been in the hospi- 
tal sixteen months, and has maintained his Christian character 
through all the trials of camp and hospital life. I found some 
convalescents playing cards. 

" ' My boys, you don't play cards on Sunday, do you ? ' 

" ' It is n't Sunday, is it ? Why, hang it all, chaplain, we 
can't keep track of the days in the army.' 

" I talked to them of home and of their mothers. The tears 
rolled down their cheeks. They put up their cards, and read 
the papers I gave them." 

" I never saw men so ready to receive religious instruction," 
said another delegate, " or who were so easily impressed with 
its truths. I am satisfied that this is a golden opportunity to 
the Christian Church. I found a young man to-day who said, 
' I want you, chaplain, to tell me just what I have to do to be 
a Christian. I will do just what you say. I want to be a Chris- 
tian.' It was a sincere desire. I find that the Catholics are 
just as eager to have religious instruction as others." 

" I found a sergeant from Massachusetts, very low, but he 
met me with a smile. ' It is all right, I am happy, and I die 
content. Tell my friends so,' " reported another. 

" I have been over the river to see some detached regi- 
ments," said a chaplain. " I asked one noble-looking soldier 
if he loved Jesus ? 

" ' No, I don't.' 

" ' Are you married ? ' 

" ' No ; but I have a sister. She is n't a Christian, but she 
wrote to me that she wanted me to become one, and I wrote 



1864.] TO PETERSBURG. 375 

to her that I wanted her to be one ; and I guess, chaplain, that 
everybody who believes the Bible feels just so. If they ain't 
good themselves, they want their friends to be.' 

" I found another soldier writing a letter on a little bit of 
paper. I gave him a full sheet and an envelope. 

" ' Are you a Christian Commission man ? ' 

" ' Yes.' 

" ' You are a d — good set of fellows.' 

" ' Hold on, soldier, not quite so hard.' 

" ' I beg your pardon, chaplain, I did n't mean to swear, but, 
darn it all, I have got into the habit out here in the army, and 
it comes right out before I think.' 

" ' Won't you try to leave it off ? ' 

" ' Yes, chaplain, I will.' " 

Said another delegate : " I went among the men, and they 
all gathered round me with great eagerness. They were a lit- 
tle disappointed, however, when they saw that I was a delegate 
of the Commission. They took me to be the paymaster. 

" But I have something that is better than gold." 

" ' Give me some of it,' said one, who was the son of a Baptist 
minister, a tender-hearted Christian." 

One, just returned from the army at Petersburg, said : " I 
came across a drummer-boy of one of the Massachusetts regi- 
ments, a member of the Sabbath school at home, who lost his 
Bible during the campaign, but he has written the heads of 
his drum all over with texts of Scripture from memory. 
He beats a Gospel drum." 

An hour was passed with such narration interspersed with 
devotional exercises. Glorious their work ! Sweet the music 
of their parting hymn : — 

" Nearer, my God, to thee, 

Nearer to thee ; 
E'en though it be a cross that raiseth me, 
Still all my song shall be. 
Nearer, my God, to thee, 

Nearer to thee." 



376 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. . [June, 



CHAPTER XXI. 

SIEGE OPEEATIONS. 

The Norfolk Railroad enters Petersburg through a ravine. 
In the attack upon the enemy's lines, on the 18th of June, the 
hollow was gained and held by Burnside's troops, their most 
advanced position being about four hundred feet from the Rebel 
line. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Pleasants, commanding the Forty- 
Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, a practical miner, conceived the 
idea of excavating a tunnel under the Rebel works and explod- 
ing a mine. He submitted the plan to Burnside, who approved 
it. General Meade said it could not be done. Major Duane, 
of the Engineers, laughed at the idea. Other officers, of high 
rank, scouted the project. Colonel Pleasants was fully con- 
vinced of its practicability, and set his men to work. 

He made application at head-quarters for a theodolite to 
make a triangulation of the distance, but was refused its use. 
He was obliged to send to Washington to obtain one. No facil- 
ities were granted him. He could neither obtain boards, lum- 
ber, or mining-picks. But his regiment, numbering four hun- 
dred men, were mostly miners, and he was confident of success. 
Work was accordingly commenced on the 25th of June, at noon. 
No wheelbarrows being provided, the men were obliged to make 
hand-barrows of cracker-boxes. But they were at home in the 
earth, and not easily discouraged by difficulties or want of 
proper tools to work with, and pushed forward the gallery, 
which was about four and a half feet high and the same in 
width, with great zeal. The earth brought out was covered 
with bushes, to conceal it from the Rebels, who by its fresh 
appearance might suspect where the mine was being sunk, as 
it was known throughout the army that mining operations had 
been commenced, and the Rebels had heard of it. The Rich- 



1864.] SIEGE OPERATIONS. 377 

mond papers published the news, and it was heralded through 
the North. 

At every discharge of the Rebel artillery there was danger 
of the caving in of the earth ; but Pleasants' daring burrow- 
ers crept steadily forward, till the noise overhead, as well as 
previous measurements, convinced them that they were imme- 
diately under the Rebel works. The main gallery was five 
hundred and ten feet in length, beside which were two lateral 
galleries, one thirty-seven and the other thirty-eight feet in 
length. 

A short distance from the entrance, inside of the Union for- 
tifications, a vertical shaft was sunk, in which a fire was kept 
constantly burning, to produce ventilation. Eight magazines 
were placed in the lateral galleries, charged with four tons of 
powder, strongly tamped, and connected by fuses. The mine 
was completed on the 23d of July. 

Grant planned an assault upon the Rebel line, independently 
of the explosion of the mine. He sent two divisions of the 
Second Corps, with two divisions of Sheridan's cavalry, to the 
Army of the James, at Deep Bottom, where an attack was 
made, four guns captured, and the line extended from Deep 
Bottom to the New Market road. Lee attempted to recover 
his lost ground, but failed. Grant, in this expedition, em- 
ployed an immense train of empty baggage-wagons, which, 
passing in sight of the Rebel pickets, made the movement an 
enigma to Lee. The Rebels in the fortifications had com- 
menced a counter-mine, but suspended labor. 

General Burnside wished that the colored troops of his divis- 
ion, under General Ferrero, should lead in the assault after the 
mine was exploded ; and the troops were drilled with that 
special object in view. He believed that they would make a 
successful charge. They were fresh, had taken but little part 
in the campaign, and were desirous of emulating the exam- 
ple of their comrades of the Eighteenth Corps. The white 
troops were worn with hard marching, fighting, and exposure 
in the trenches in front of Petersburg, where they had been 
on the watch day and night. The lines were so near to the 
Rebels that a man could not show his head above the parapet 
without being shot. They had acquired the habit of taking 



378 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June. 

their positions by covered approaches, and had lost the resolute 
confidence and fearlessness manifested at the beginning of the 
campaigns. 

General Meade objected to Burnside's plan. 

" I objected," says Meade, " not that I had any reason to 
believe that the colored troops would not do their duty as well 
as the white troops, but that they were a new division, and had 
never been under fire, had never been tried, and, as this was 
an operation which I knew beforehand was one requiring the 
very best troops, I thought it impolitic to trust to a division of 
whose reliability we had no evidence." * 

The matter was referred to General Grant, who says : — 

" General Burnside wanted to put his colored division in front, and 
I believe if he had done so it would have been a success. Still I 
agreed with General Meade in his objections to the plan. General 
Meade said that if we put the colored troops in front (we had only one 
division), and it should prove a failure, it would then be said, probably, 
that we were shoving those people ahead to get killed, because we did 
not care anything about them. But that could not be said if we put 
white troops in front." f 

General Burnside had three divisions of white troops ; as 
there were reasons for assigning either of the divisions to lead 
the assault, lots were cast, and the duty fell upon General 
Ledlie. 

Burnside was directed by Meade to form his troops during 
the night, and be ready to assault at daylight on the 30th. His 
pioneers were to be equipped to destroy the enemy's abatis. 
Intrenching tools were provided, so that if successful in break- 
ing tlie Rebel lines, the position might be quickly secured. 

Portions of the Fifth and Eighteenth Corps were brought up 
to support the Ninth. 

The field artillery was to be harnessed for immediate use. 
The siege artillery was to open a heavy fire. The Second 
Corps, at Deep Bottom, was to move to the rear of the Eigh- 
teenth, and be ready for any emergency. Sheridan, with 
the cavalry, was ordered to attack south and east of Peters- 
burg. The Engineers were to have sandbags, gabions, and fas- 

* Attack on Petersburg, Report of Committee on Conduct of the War, p. 4. 
t Ibid., p. 5. 



1864.] SIEGE OPEEATIONS. 379 

cines in readiness. The mine was to be fired at half past three, 
and simultaneously with the explosion the assaulting column 
was to rush into the gap, 

" Promptitude, rapidity of execution, and cordial co-operation 
are essential to success," wrote General Meade, in his conclud- 
ing orders. 

The movements and preparations were completed before three 
o'clock. The moon was shining brightly, but the Rebels made 
no discovery of the change of position and massing of troops 
in rear of the Ninth Corps. The heights near the hospitals were 
covered by teamsters, ambulance drivers, surgeons, and civil- 
ians, waiting with intense interest for the expected upheaval. 

Half past three came, and the fuse was lighted. A stream of 
fire ran quickly along the gallery, but no explosion followed. 
Had the fuse failed ? Lieutenant Douty and Sergeant Reese 
went boldly in to ascertain, and found the fire had gone out 
one hundred feet from the entrance. The fuse was relighted, 
but it was almost five o'clock, and the anxious spectators 
began to speculate as to the cause of the delay. 

Grant and Meade were at the front. The troops thought the 
whole thing a failure, and began to ridicule the Pennsylvania 
miners. 

Fleming's Rebel brigade, composed of the Seventeenth, Eigh- 
teenth, and Twenty-Second North Carolinians, was asleep over 
the mine. The pickets only were awake. Pegram's battery 
was also in the redoubt. 

Finally there came a trembling of the earth, then a bursting 
forth of volcanic flames and rolling up of dense clouds of smoke. 
A mountain of rubbish rose in the air. Earth, men, planks, 
timbers, cannon, shot and shell, were hurled upward and out- 
ward ! The sight was terribly grand. To add to the fright- 
fulness of the eruption and the grandeur of the spectacle, one 
hundred guns instantly belched forth their thunders. The 
Rebels were surprised and panic-stricken for the moment, and 
ran to escape the falling earth and timbers, leaving their artil- 
lery silent. A huge gap had been made in the Rebel works, 
four or five hundred feet in length and twenty feet in depth. 

Success depended upon the immediate occupation of the 
breach. Ten minutes passed before Ledlie moved, and then 



380 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

he only advanced to the crater. The Rebels offered no oppo- 
sition. The important point to be gained and held was a ridge 
four hundred yards beyond. Ledlie still halted in the exca- 
vation. "Wilcox and Potter soon followed him, and the three 
divisions became intermixed, and general confusion prevailed. 
An hour of precious time was lost. Ledlie made no attempt 
to move in or out, and Potter and Wilcox could not go for- 
ward while he blocked the way. 

The enemy gradually recovered from their stupor, and began 
to fire from the hills, and batteries of artillery were brought up 
on the right and left to enfilade the crater : but not a cannon- 
shot was fired by the Rebels till after seven o'clock. The sup- 
porting brigades meanwhile were crowding upon those in front. 
The colored troops were ordered forward. They also entered 
the crater, which only added to the confusion. Potter succeed- 
ed in freeing his troops from Ledlie's, and pushed on toward 
the crest, but being unsupported, he was obliged to retire, 
driven back by the canister which the enemy poured into his 
ranks from the new position they had taken on Cemetery Hill. 
The Rebel fire increased. Eight; nine, ten o'clock passed ; their 
batteries were throwing a concentrated fire of shells and solid 
shot into the mingled human mass. Mahone's and Ransom's 
divisions of infantry were hurried to the top of the ridge, and 
mortars were brought into play, and the crater became a terrible 
scene of slaughter. Meade, seeing that further attempt to take 
the ridge would be not only useless, but a waste of life, per- 
mitted Burnside to withdraw his troops at discretion. Yet to 
retire was to run the gauntlet of almost certain death. The 
space between the abyss and Burnside's breastworks was swept 
by a cross-fire from the enemy's artillery and infantiy. To re- 
main in the crater was sure destruction ; to advance was im- 
possible ; to retreat the only alternative. Permission was given 
the troops to retire. By degrees they fled to the rear ; but it 
was two o'clock in the afternoon before the place was wholly 
evacuated. 

Forty-seven officers and three hundred and seventy-two sol- 
diers were killed, one hundred and twenty-four officers and 
fifteen hundred and fifty-five soldiers wounded, and nineteen 
hundred missing ; a total loss of over four thousand men, and 
no substantial advantage gained. 



1864.] SIEGE OPERATIONS. 381 

The loss of the Rebels by the explosion was very great, as 
also by the heavy artillery fire. 

The causes of the failure, as decided by the Committee on 
the Conduct of the War, were : tlie injudicious formation of 
the troops assaulting ; the halting of Ledlie ; lack of proper 
engineers ; and the want of a competent head at the scene of 
assault. 

The reasons why the attack ought to have been successful 
are thus stated : — 

" 1. The evident surprise of the enemy at the time of the explosion 
of the mine, and for some time after. 

" 2. The comparatively small force in the enemy's works. 

" 3. The ineffective fire of the enemy's artillery and musketry, there 
being scarcely any for about thirty minutes after the explosion, and our 
artillery being just the reverse as to time and power. 

" 4. The fact that our troops were able to get two hundred yards be- 
yond the crater, towards the west, but could not remain there or proceed 
farther for want of supports." * 

It was a humiliating, disgraceful failure, which filled the 
North with mourning. The Rebels manifested their hatred of 
the colored troops by shooting some of them even after tliey 
had surrendered. The Richmond Enquirer said that the as- 
saulting column was led by colored troops, who rushed on with 
the cry of " No quarter," but the assertion is not true. The 
colored troops were not ordered forward till late in the morn- 
ing, and then advanced but a few steps beyond the crater. The 
Enquirer of August 1st doubtless gave expression to the senti- 
ments of the Southern people respecting the treatment to be ac- 
corded to colored soldiers. Said that paper : — 

" Grant's war cry of " No quarter," shouted by his negro soldiers, was 
returned with interest, we regret to hear not so heavily as it ought to 

have been, since some negroes were captured instead of being shot 

Let every salient we are called upon to defend be a Fort Pillow, and 
butcher every negro that Grant hurls against our brave troops, and per- 
mit them not to soil their hands with the capture of one negro." 

It was the opinion of many officers who saw the advance of 
the colored division, that, had they been permitted to lead the 

* Report of Committee. 



382 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [June, 

assault, the crest would have been seized and held. Such is 
the opinion of the Lieutenant-General already given. 

The onset promised to be successful, but ended in one of 
the severest disasters of the war, without any compensation 
worthy of mention. 

Sad the scene on that afternoon. The ground was thickly 
strewn with dying and dead. The sun blazed from a cloudless 
sky, and the heat was intense. The cries of the wounded were 
heart-rending. Officers and men on both sides stopped their 
ears, and turned away heart-sick at the sight. It was an exhi- 
bition of the horrible features of war which, once seen, is for- 
ever remembered. 

The operation of Grant upon the enemy's lines of communi- 
cation was beginning to be felt in Richmond. Wilson and 
Kautz on the Danville and Weldon roads, Sheridan on the Vir- 
ginia Central, and Hunter in the vicinity of Lynchburg, alto- 
gether had caused an interruption of communication which 
advanced the prices of produce in the markets of that city. 

It is amusing to read the papers published during the sum- 
mer of 1864. All of Grant's movements from the Rapidan 
to Petersburg were retreats. Lee, in his despatches to Jeff 
Davis from the Wilderness, said that Grant was retreating to- 
wards Fredericksburg. It happened, however, that Lee found 
Grant attacking his lines at Spottsylvania on the following 
morning. " The enemy is falling back from Spottsylvania," 
said the Examiner^ when Grant moved to the North Anna. 

" Grant is floundering in the swamp of the Chickahominy ; 
he has reached McClellan's graveyard," said the Rebel press, 
when he was at Cold Harbor. 

" Grant's, attitude before Petersburg is that of a baffled, if not 
a ruined man," said the Richmond Enquirer. 

" We can stand such a siege as Grant thinks he has estab- 
lished for twenty years to come," was the language of the 
Petersburg Express. 

Another number of the Enquirer^ commenting upon the 
Richmond markets, revealed more clearly the truth. 

" The extortion now practised upon the people," said the 
Enquirer of June 30th, " in every department of necessary sup- 
ply, is frightful. It is a pitiable sight to see the families of this 



1864.] SIEGE OPERATIONS. 383 

city swarming in the markets for food, and subjected to the 
merciless exactions of this unrestrained avarice." 

The fortunes of the Confederacy were becoming desperate. 
Sherman had advanced from Chattanooga, driving Johnston to 
Atlanta. The removal of Johnston, and the appointment of 
an officer in his stead who would fight the Yankees, was 
demanded. Jeff Davis heeded the cry, removed Johnston, 
and appointed Hood to succeed him. The Enquirer was 
jubilant. Said that sheet : — 

" There must be an end of retreating, and the risk of defeat must be 
encountered, or victory can never be won. The rule of Cunctator must 
have an end, for the rashness of Scipio can only end this war. If Gen- 
eral Johnston has been relieved, the country will accept this action of 
the President as a determination henceforth to accept the risk of battle, 
as involving the fate and fixing the destiny of the Confederacy. To go 
forward and to fight is now the motto of our armies, and since Johnston 
would not advance, Hood has no other alternative, for his appointment 

has but one meaning, and that is to give battle to the foe Grant is 

hopelessly crippled at Petersburg, and Lee has but a few days ago 
thundered his artillery in the corporate limits of Washington City. 
Grant, while apparently advancing, has been really retreating, and this 
day is in a position from which he can advance no farther, and from 
which his retreat is only a question of time. Grant is exhausting the 
malice of disappointment and the chagrin of defeat in bombarding Pe- 
tersburg ; but Sherman, unless defeated by Hood, must march into 
Atlanta. The movements of General Lee have so weakened the army 
of Grant, that it is more an object of pity than of fear." * 

Early in the campaign Grant, seeing the necessity of keeping 
the ranks of the Army of the Potomac full, had ordered the 
Nineteenth Corps, then on the Mississippi, to take transports 
for the James. His policy was concentration combined with 
activity. His foresight and prudence in this matter were of 
inestimable value, as will be seen in the ensuing chapter. 

* Richmond ^wg'MtVer, July 19, 1864. 



384 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [J^lj, 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THIRD INVASION OF MARYLAND. 

The armies of the Union in Virginia, in the West, beyond 
the Mississippi, and along the Gulf were controlled by General 
Grant. The chess-board was continental in its dimensions, 
but everything upon it seemed within reach of his hand. He 
had two armies under his immediate direction, — the Army 
of the Potomac and the Army of the James. He was in con- 
stant communication with Sherman at Atlanta, and his orders 
reached the forces a thousand miles distant on the Mississippi ! 
The details were left to the commanders of the various armies, 
but all important schemes were submitted to him for approval. 
But his best plans sometimes miscarried, from the neglect or 
inability of his subordinates to carry them into execution. 
Before starting from the Rapidan, General Grant ordered 
Hunter, who had succeeded to the command of Sigel in the 
Shenandoah, to proceed up the valley to Staunton and Gordons- 
ville. When Grant was on the North Anna, he advised that 
officer to move on Charlottesville and Lynchburg, live on the 
country as he marched, and destroy the railroads, and, if pos- 
sible, the James River Canal. Accomplishing that, he was to 
return to Gordonsville, and there join Grant. Hunter advanced. 
Sheridan was sent with the cavalry, while Grant was at Cold 
Harbor, to aid him. Sheridan broke up the Virginia Central 
Railroad, moved to Gordonsville, but hearing nothing of Hun- 
ter returned to the White House, and rejoined Grant at Peters- 
burg. 

Hunter moved up the valley. At the same time Generals 
Crook and Averill, leaving Western Virginia, met Hunter near 
Staunton, where they had a battle with the Rebels under Gen- 
eral Jones, who was killed, and his force routed, with a loss 
of three guns and fifteen hundred prisoners. 

Hunter, instead of approaching Lynchburg by Gordonsville 



1864.] THIKD INVASION OF MARYLAND. 385 

and Charlottesville, took the road leading through Lexington, 
and thus missed Sheridan. 

He reached Lynchburg on the 16th of June, at the same 
time that Grant was moving from Cold Harbor to the James. 
Lee, seeing the danger which threatened him at the back- 
door of the Rebel capital, threw reinforcements into Lynch- 
burg, and Hunter was obliged to retreat, being far from his 
base, and having but a limited supply of ammunition. Having 
advanced upon Lynchburg from the west, instead of from the 
north, he was obliged to retreat in the same direction through 
Western Virginia, a country wellnigh barren of supplies. This 
left the Shenandoah open. There was no force to oppose the 
Rebels who were at Lynchburg. The decision of Hunter to 
go forward by Lexington instead of by Gordonsville disar- 
ranged Grant's plans, who did not direct him to move by 
Charlottesville. His letter to Halleck of the 25th of May 
reads : " If Hunter can possibly get to Charlottesville and 
Lynchburg, he should do so, living on the country. The rail- 
roads and canals should be destroyed beyond the possibility of 
repair for wrecks. Completing this, he could find his way 
back to his original base, or from Gordonsville join this army." 
No mention was made of his advancing by Lexington ; but 
taking that route, and being compelled to retreat by the Great 
Kanawha, gave Lee an opportunity to strike a blow at "Wash- 
ington. He was active to improve it, but Grant was quick to 
discover his intentions. 

Ewell was sick, and Early was appointed to command the 
Rebel troops in the Valley. Breckenridge was sent up from 
Richmond. The troops took cars and moved up the^Lynchburg 
road to Gordonsville. Early found himself at the head of 
twenty-five or thirty thousand men. Mosby, with his band of 
guerillas, was scouring the Valley and Western Virginia. He 
reported a clear coast towards Washington, but that Sigel was 
at Martinsburg. 

Early passed rapidly down the Valley, drove Sigel across the 
Potomac, and followed him to Hagerstown. The people of 
Western Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania, who had al- 
ready received two unpleasant visits from the Rebels, fled in 
haste towards Baltimore and Harrisburg. The panic was 

25 



386 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [J^^Jj 

widespread. Extravagant stories were told of the force of the 
enemy : Lee's whole army was advancing ; he had outgener- 
alled Grant ; he had sixty thousand men across the Potomac ; 
"Washington and Baltimore were to be captured. All of which 
was received with exceeding coolness by the Lieutenant-General 
in command at City Point, who detached the Sixth Corps, or- 
dering Ricketts's division to Baltimore and the other two divis- 
ions to Washington. The Nineteenth Corps, which had arrived 
at Fortress Monroe, was despatched to "Washington. 

The news was startling. Leaving the army at Petersburg, I 
hastened to City Point, to proceed to "Washington. There was 
no commotion at General Grant's head-quarters. The chief 
quartermaster was looking over his reports. The clerks were 
at their regular work. There were numerous transports in the 
stream, but no indications of the embarkation of troops. Gen- 
eral Grant was out, walking leisurely about, with his thumbs 
in the arm-holes of his vest, smoking his cigar so quiet and ap- 
parently unconcerned, that, had it not been for the three stars 
on his shoulders, a stranger would have passed him without a 
thought of his being the man who was playing the deepest game 
of war in modern times. The members of his military family 
were not in the least excited. Calling on Colonel Bowers, 
Grant's adjutant-general, I found him attending to the daily 
routine. 

" They are having a little scare at "Washington and in the 
North. It will do them good," said he. 

" How large a force is it supposed the Rebels have in Mary- 
land ? " 

" Some-^here about twenty-five thousand, — possibly thirty. 
Breckenridge has gone, with his command. And Early has 
raked and scraped all the troops possible which were outside 
of Richmond. Mosby is with him, and the irregular bands of 
the upper Potomac, and the troops which met Hunter at Lynch- 
burg. It will not affect operations here. Lee undoubtedly 
expected to send Grant post-haste to "Washington ; but the siege 
will go on." 

On the wall of his room was a map of the Southern States, 
showing by colored lines the various gauges of all the rail- 
roads. Grant came in, looked at it, said " Good morning," 



V 



1864.] THIKD INVASION OF MARYLAND. 387 

and went out for another stroll about the grounds, thinking all 
the while. 

On board our boat was a lively company, principally composed 
of the soldiers of the Massachusetts Sixteenth, who had served 
three years, and were on their way home. They were in the 
Peninsular campaigns. Their commander. Colonel Wyman, 
was killed at Glendale, where they held the ground when Mc- 
Call's line was swept away. His fugitives ran through Hooker's 
and Sumner's lines, but the men of the Sixteenth stood firm in 
their places, till the drift had passed by, and moved forward to 
meet the exultant enemy, pouring in such a fire that the Rebel 
column became a mob, and fled in haste towards Richmond, 
They were in Grover's brigade at the second battle of Manas- 
sas. There have been few bayonet-charges pushed with such 
power as theirs in that battle. The Rebels were on Milroy's 
left flank, which was bending like a bruised reed before their 
advance, when Grover moved to the attack. 

" We stood in these lines," said a wounded officer of the 
Second Louisiana, a prisoner at Warrenton, two' months after 
that battle. " They fell upon us like a thunderbolt. They 
paid no attention to our volleys. We mowed them down, but 
they went right through our first line, then through our sec- 
ond, and advanced to the railroad embankment, and there we 
stopped them. They did it so splendidly that we could n't 
help cheering them. It made me feel bad to fire on such 
brave fellows." 

They were reduced to a squad. Their comrades were lying 
on nearly all the battle-fields of Virginia. 

" We have had a pretty rough time of it, and I am glad we 
are through ; but I would n't mind having another crack at 
the Johnnie's round Washington," said a soldier, lying on the 
deck with his knapsack for a pillow. 

The whole regiment was ready to volunteer for the defence 
of Washington. 

The cannoneers of the Twelfth New York battery were of the 
company. They were in Wilson's raid, had lost their guns, 
and felt sore. Even when their loss is owing to no fault on the 
part of the artillerists, they usually feel that it is humiliating. 
1 have seen them pat the brazen lips of the dogs of war, which 
they give pet names, and regard affectionately. 



388 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [J^lj, 

There were members of the Sanitary and Christian Com- 
missions, taking care of the sick and wounded ; also a family 
of refugees from Prince George County, on the way to Mary- 
land, to find a new home till the war was over. 

Early was making the most of his opportunity. His cavalry 
moved at will, with no force to oppose them. 

They divided into small bodies and overran the country from 
Frederick to Williamsport, destroying the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad, burning canal-boats, seizing horses, cattle, and sup- 
plies from the farmers, ransacking houses as thoroughly as the 
soldiers of the Union had done in Virginia. 

The first invasion of Maryland, in 1862, was a political as 
well as a military movement. It was supposed by the Rebel 
leaders that the State was ready to join the Confederacy, that 
the people were held in subjection by a military despotism. 
" My Maryland" was then the popular song of the South, sung 
in camp, on the march, and in parlors and concert-halls. 
" The despot's heel is on thy shore, 
Maryland ! 
His torch is at thy temple-door, 

Maryland ! 
Avenge the patriotic gore 
That wept o'er gallant Baltimore, 
And be the battle-queen of yore, 
Maryland ! My Maryland ! " 

"When Jackson's corps crossed the Potomac, his troops sang 
it with enthusiastic demonstrations, tossing up their caps. 
They came as liberators. Jackson's orders were strict against 
pillage. All property taken was to be paid for in Confederate 
notes, — at that time esteemed by the Rebels to be as good as 
greenbacks, though not very acceptable to the Marylanders. It 
was an invasion for conciliation. The troops respected the 
orders, and, aside from the loss of a few horses, the people of 
Maryland were well treated in that campaign. But in the 
second invasion, when Lee passed into Pennsylvania, no favor 
was shown to Maryland. Houses, stores, public and private 
buildings alike were sacked and burned. The soldiers foraged 
at will, and the one who could secure the most clothing or food 
was the best fellow. In this third and last invasion, officers 
and soldiers pillaged indiscriminately. 



1864.] THIRD INVASION OF MARYLAND. 389 

" Pay me twenty thousand dollars or I will burn your town," 
said Early to the citizens of Hagerstown, who advanced the 
money or its equivalent. 

General Lew Wallace was in command at Baltimore. He 
sent what troops he could collect to the Monocacy, where he was 
joined by Ricketts's division of the Sixth Corps. Wallace formed 
his line across the railroad and awaited Early's advance. With 
the exception of Ricketts's division, Wallace's troops were men 
enlisted for one hundred days, also heavy artillerests taken 
from the Baltimore fortifications, invalids from the hospitals, 
and volunteers, numbering about nine thousand. The Rebels 
forded the stream and began the attack. They were held in 
check several hours. Wallace, after losing about twelve hun- 
dred men, was obliged to retreat. 

His defeat, and the stories of the magnitude of the Rebel 
force, put Baltimore and Washington in great excitement. The 
battle at Monocacy was fought on Saturday. On Sunday morn- 
ing the church-bells in Baltimore were rung, and the citizens, 
instead of attending worship, made haste to prepare for the 
enemy. Alarming reports reached that city from Westminster, 
Reisterstown, and Cockeysville, that the Rebels were in posses- 
sion of those places. Couriers dashed into Washington from 
Rockville, only twelve miles distant, crying that the Rebels 
were advancing upon the capital. On Monday morning they 
were near Havre-de-Grace, at Gunpowder River, where they 
burned the bridge, cut the telegraph, captured trains, and 
robbed passengers, entirely severing Baltimore and Washington 
from the loyal North. Only five miles from Washington, they 
burned the house of Governor Bradford, and pillaged Mont- 
gomery Blair's. Government employees were under arms, and 
troops were hastening out on the roads leading north and west, 
when I arrived in Washington. Loud cheers greeted Wright's 
two divisions of the Sixth Corps, and still louder shouts the 
veterans of the Nineteenth Corps, from the Mississippi, as they 
marched through the city. It was amusing and instructive to 
watch the rapid change in men's countenances. When dis- 
aster threatens, men are silent ; the danger past, the tongue 
is loosened. / 

On S^xeeStda^ the Rebel sharpshooters were in front of Fort 




390 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [J^ly? 

Stevens ; they picked off some of the gunners, but a charge 
by a brigade dislodged them. They tied, leaving about one 
hundred dead and wouivded. Forces were gathering around 
Early, and on Wfidfiuesday morning he had disappeared. He 
recrossed the Potomac at Edwards's Ferry, and made his way, 
through Snicker's Gap, into the Shenandoah Valley, with an 
immense train of plunder, consisting of forage, grain, horses, 
cattle, hogs, sheep, groceries, clothing, and a forced contribution 
of two hundred thousand dollars from the people of Frederick, 
levied under threat of burning the town. 

Early had no serious intention of attacking Washington, but 
the invasion was designed primarily to raise the siege of Peters- 
burg, and secondarily to replenish the commissariat of the 
Rebel army. 

Grant comprehended the movement, and instead of abandon- 
ing Petersburg, made preparations to seize the Weldon road, 
which, after a severe struggle, was accomplished. A few weeks 
later Sheridan defeated Early in the Valley, which ended the 
campaign of 1864 in Virginia. 




1864.] SHERMAN'S ARMY. 391 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

SHERMAN'S ARMY. 

The army under General Sherman fought its way from Chat- 
tanooga to Atlanta, and then marched to the sea, capturing 
Port McAllister, and opening communication with the fleet 
under Dupont on the 13th of December, and a few days later 
made its grand entrSe into Savannah. A brief review of Sher- 
man's campaign is necessary to a clear understanding of what 
afterward transpired in his department. 

While the Army of the Potomac was pushing through to the 
south side of the James, the Army of the West was moving 
upon Atlanta, having driven the Rebels under Johnston from 
Tunnel Hill, Buzzards' Roost, Resaca, Kingston, Allatoona, and 
Kenesaw. Johnston fought only on the defensive, and was 
constantly beaten, abandoning stronghold after stronghold that 
the Rebels had declared impregnable, and whose surrender 
they felt was humiliating and disgraceful. 

There was a clamor throughout the South for his removal, 
and the appointment of a general who would take the offensive. 
Jeff Davis disliked Johnston on personal grounds, and ap- 
pointed Hood his successor. That officer hurled his, troops 
against Sherman's breastworks, and suffered a damaging de- 
feat. Sherman in turn made a flank movement, and compelled 
Hood to evacuate Atlanta, which Sherman occiipied on the 
2d of September. Jeff" Davis hastened West. He conceived 
the idea of forcing Sherman to retreat from Atlanta to Nash- 
ville, by invading Tennessee. As Hood's army had been driven 
from Cliattanooga to Dalton, losing all its strong positions, this 
plan is one of the most remarkable in military history. It is 
hardly within the sphere of sober criticism, but appropriately be- 
longs to the comic page. " Your feet shall again press the soil 
of Tennessee, within thirty days," said Davis to the soldiers. 
" The invader shall be driven from your territory. The re- 
treat of Sherman from Atlanta shall be like Napoleon's from 
Moscow." 



392 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

Sherman had already contemplated a movement to Savannah, j 
and had opened correspondence with Grant. 

"Until we can repopulate Georgia it is useless to occupy it; but the 
utter destruction of its roads, houses, and people will cripple their military 
resources. By attempting to hold the roads we will lose a thousand 
men monthly, and will gain no result. I can make the march and make 

Georgia howl Hood may turn into Tennessee and Kentucky, but 

I believe he will be forced to follow me. Instead of being ou the 
defensive, I would be on the offensive. Instead of guessing at what he 
means, he would have to guess at my plans. The difference in war is 
fully twenty-five per cent. I can make Savannah, Charleston, or the 
mouth of the Chattahoochee, and prefer to march through Georgia, 
smashing things to the sea." 

Grant authorized the movement. Hood was preparing to 
move north. 

Sherman's right wing, commanded by Howard, was com- 
posed of Osterhaus's Fifteenth Corps and the Seventeenth, 
under Blair ; Slocum had his left wing,'containing the Four- 
teenth Corps under Jeff. C. Davis, and the Twentieth with 
"Williams. 

The Twentieth was consolidated from the Eleventh and 
Twelfth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, which had fought 
at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. 

Sherman sent his last despatch to Washington on the 11th 
of November. On the 17th, the day on which Sherman left 
Atlanta, Hood crossed the Tennessee River, to make the move- 
ment which was to compel Sherman to evacuate Georgia ! 

Sherman's southward march was a surprise to the Rebels. 
They affected joy, and predicted his destruction. 

Said the Augusta Constitutionalist: — 

" The hand of God is in it. The blow, if we can give it as it should 
be given, may end the war. We urge our friends in the track of the 
advance to remove forage and provisions, horses, mules, and negroes, 
and stock, and burn the balance. Let the invader find the desolation 

he would leave behind him staring him in the face Cut trees across 

all roads in front of the enemy, burn the bridges, remove everything 
possible in time, and, before the enemy arrives, burn and destroy what 
cannot be removed, — leave nothing on which he can subsist; and hide 
the millstones and machinery of the mills The Russians destroyed 



1864.] SHERMAN'S ARMY. 393 

the grand army of Napoleon, of five hundred thousand men, by destroy- 
ing their country, by the fulness of fire applied to their own cities, 
houses, and granaries. Let Georgians imitate their unselfishness and 
love of country for a few weeks, and the army of Sherman will have 
the fate of the army of Napoleon." * 

Said the Savannah News : — 

" We have only to arouse our whole arms-bearing people, — hover on 
his front, his flanks, and rear, — remove from his reach or destroy every- 
thing that will subsist man or beast, — retard his progress by every 
means in our power, — and, when the proper time comes, fall upon him 
with the relentless vengeance of an insulted and outraged people, and 
there need be no doubt of the result." f 

" If it be true," said the Examiner of Richmond, " that Sher- 
man is now attempting this prodigious design, we may safely 
predict that his march will lead him to the Paradise of Fools, 
and that his magnificent scheme will hereafter be reckoned 
' With all the good deeds that never were done.' " 

Almost without opposition Sherman reached the sea, and 
forced Hardee to evacuate Savannah. 

General Sherman is regarded by many people in the South- 
ern States as the Attila of the nineteenth century, because his 
path from Atlanta to the Roanoke is a wide-spread scene of dev- 
astation. Yet he did only tliat which the leaders of the Rebel- 
lion and the newspapers of the South urged the people to do. 
They proposed to make the country a ruin in self-defence. 
Sherman did it to shorten the war. He says : — 

" We consumed the corn and fodder in the region of country for thir- 
ty miles on either side of a line from Atlanta to Savannah ; also the 
sweet potatoes, hogs, sheep, and poultry, and carried off more than ten 
thousand horses and mules. I estimate the damage done to the State 
of Georgia as one hundred million dollars ; at least twenty milhon dol- 
lars of which enured to our advantage, and the remainder was simple 
waste and destruction." % 

This is a frank avowal. It is the official utterance of the 
commander who was instrumental in causing such wholesale 
destruction. To what end ? What was gained by it ? Was 

* Augusta Constitutionalist, November 22, 1864. 

t Neivs, November 22, 1864. % Sherman's Report. 



394 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

such destruction warranted ? What will be the verdict of his- 
tory ? These are questions which force themselves upon every 
thinking mind. 

General Sherman's vindication of himself is found in his 
correspondence with the Mayor of Atlanta and with General 
Hood concerning the expulsion of the non-combatants from 
that city. 

As he could not subsist his army and the citizens also, he or- 
dered that every person not connected with the army should 
leave the place. The people of that town had done what they 
could to overthrow the government of the United States. They 
had given great material aid to the Rebellion. They hated the 
Union as bitterly as ever, but were willing to be consumers of 
the food dispensed by a government which they were not will- 
ing to recognize as holding rightful authority over them. The 
Mayor set forth the suffering which would be entailed upon 
women and children, the poor and sick, by the enforcement of 
th5 order. 

" You know the woe, the horror, and the suffering cannot be de- 
scribed in words," said the Mayor. " Imagination can only conceive 

of it, and we ask you to take these things into consideration We 

solemnly petition you to reconsider this order, or modify it, and suffer 
this unfortunate people to remain at home and enjoy what little means 
they have." 

The reply of General Sherman was clear and decisive. 

" Gentlemen : I have your letter of the 11th, in the nature of a pe- 
tition to revoke my orders removing all the inhabitants from Atlanta. 
I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your statements of the 
distress that will be occasioned by it, and yet shall not revoke my order, 
simply because my orders are not designed to meet the humanities of 
the case, but to prepare for the future struggles in which millions, yea, 
hundreds of millions of good people outside of Atlanta, have a deep in- 
terest. We must have peace, not only at Atlanta, but in all America. 
To secure this we must stop the war that now desolates our once happy 
and favored country. To stop the war, we must defeat the Rebel ar- 
mies that are arrayed against the laws and Constitution, which all must 
respect and obey. To defeat the armies, we must prepare the way to 
reach them in their recesses, provided with the arms and instruments 
which enable us to accomplish our purpose. 

" Now, I know the vindictive nature of our enemy, and that we may 



1864.] . SHERMAN'S ARMY. 395 

have many years of military operations from this quarter, and therefore 
deem it wise and prudent to prepare in time. The use of Atlanta for 
warlike purposes is inconsistent with its character as a home for fami- 
lies. There will be no manufactures, commerce, or agriculture here 
for the maintenance of families, and sooner or later want will compel 
the inhabitants to go 

" War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it ; and those who brought 
war on ©ur country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people 
can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know' 
I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace. But 
you cannot have peace and a division of our country 

" You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against 
these terrible hardships of war. They are inevitable, and the only way 
the people of Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at 
home, is to stop this war, which can alone be done by admitting that it 
began in error and is perpetuated in pride. We don't want your ne- 
groes or your horses, or your houses or your land, or anything you 
have ; but we do want, and will have, a just obedience to the laws of 
the United States. That we will have, and if it involves the destruc- 
tion of your improvements, we cannot help it. 

" You have heretofore read public sentiment in your newspapers, that 
live by falsehood and excitement, and the quicker you seek for truth in 
other quarters the better for you. I repeat, then, that by the original 
compact of government, the United States had certain rights in Georgia 
which have never been relinquished, and never will be ; that the South 
began the war by seizing forts, arsenals, mints, custom-houses, etc., etc., 
long before Mr. Lincoln was installed, and before the South had one jot 
or tittle of provocation. I myself have seen, in Missouri, Kentucky, 
Tennessee, and Mississippi, hundreds and thousands of women and chil- 
dren fleeing from your armies and desperadoes, hungry and with bleed- 
ing feet. In Memj^his, Vicksburg, and Mississippi, we fed thousands 
upon thousands of the families of Rebel soldiers left on our hands, and 
whom we could not see starve. Now that war comes home to you, 
you feel very differently, you deprecate its horrors, but did not feel 
them when you sent car-loads of soldiers and ammunition, and moulded 
shells and shot to carry war into Kentucky and Tennessee, and desolate 
the Iiomes of hundreds and thousands of good people, who only asked to 
live in peace at their old homes, and under the government of their in- 
heritance. But these comparisons are idle. I want peace, and believe 
it can only be reached through Union and war ; and I will ever con- 
duct war purely with a view to perfect an early success. 

" But, my dear sirs, when that peace does come, you may call upon 



396 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. . [DeC. 

me for anything. Then will I share with you the last cracker, and 

watch with you to shield your home and families against danger from ] 

every quarter. Now, you must go, and take with you the old and fee- i 

ble ; feed and nurse them, and build for them in more quiet places proper i 

habitations to shield them against the weather, until the mad passions ' 

of men cool down, and allow the Union and peace once more to settle on j 

your old homes at Atlanta." ,, 

General Hood protested against the order. By a 'flag of 
truce he sent a letter, saying : — | 

" Permit me to say, the unprecedented measure you propose tran- 
scends in studied and iniquitous cruelty all acts ever before brought to 
my attention in this dark history of the war. In the name of God and 
humanity, I protest, believing you are expelUng from homes and fire- . 
sides wives and children of a brave people." i 

To this Sherman answered on the same date : — ^ 

"You style the measures proposed, 'unprecedented,' and appeal 
to the dark history of war for a parallel, as an act of ' studied and 
iniquitous cruelty.' It is not unprecedented, for General Johnston him- 
self very wisely and properly removed the families all the way from 
Dalton down, and I see no reason why Atlanta should be excepted. 
Nor is it necessary to appeal to ' the dark history of war,' when recent 
and modern examples are so handy. You yourself burned dwelling- 
houses along your parapet ; and I have seen, to-day, fifty houses that 
you have rendered uninhabitable because they stood in the way of your 
forts and men. You defended Atlanta on a line so close to the town 
that every cannon-shot and many musket-shots from our line of invest- 
ment, that overshot their mark, went into the habitations of women and 
children. General Hardee did the same thing at Jonesboro', and Gen- 
eral Johnston did the same last summer at Jackson, Mississippi. 

" I have not accused you of heartless cruelty, but merely instance 
these cases of very recent occurrence, and could go on and enumerate 
hundreds of others, and challenge any fair man to judge which of us 
has the heart of pity for the families of ' brave people.' I say it is 
kindness to these families of Atlanta to remove them at once from 
scenes that women and children should not be exposed to ; and the 
'brave people' should scorn to commit their wives and children to the 
rude barbarians who thus, as you say, violate the rules of war as illus- 
trated in the pages of its ' dark history.' 

" In the name of common sense, I ask you not to ' appeal to a just 
God' in such a sacrilegious manner, — you who in the midst of peace 



1864.] SHEKMAN'S ARMY. 397 

and prosperity have plunged a nation into war, dark and cruel war ; 
who dared and badgered us into battle ; insulted our flag ; seized our 
arsenals and forts that were left in the honorable custody of a peaceful 
ordnance sergeant ; .seized and made prisoners even the very first gar- 
risons sent to protect your people against negroes and Indians, long be- 
fore any other act was committed by the, to you, ' hateful Lincoln 
government,' tried to force Missouri and Kentucky into rebellion, in 
spite of themselves ; falsified the vote of Louisiana ; turned loose your 
privateers to plunder unarmed ships ; expelled Union families by tlie 
thousands, burned their houses, and declared by acts of your Congress 
the confiscation of all debts due Northern men for goods had and re- 
ceived. Talk thus to the Marines, but not to me, who have seen these 
things, and who will this day make as much sacrifice for the peace and 
honor of the South as the best-born Southerner among you. If we 
must be enemies, let us be men, and fight it out as we propose to-day, 
and not deal in such hypocritical appeals to God and humanity. 

" God will judge us in due time, and he will pronounce whether it 
will be humane to fight with a town full of women and the families of 
'a brave people' at our back, or to remove them in time to places of 
safety among their own friends and people." 

Notwithstanding the excesses which were committed by the 
foragers on Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea, his army 
maintained its discipline. The soldiers while in and around 
Savannah were orderly and quiet. No woman was insulted ; 
there was no debauchery, no breaking open of houses. Citizens 
could walk the streets and engage in business without molesta- 
tion. Life and property were respected. General Sherman 
in his official report thus spoke of the conduct of his sol- 
diers : — 

" As to the rank and file, they seem so full of confidence in them- 
selves that I doubt if they want a compliment from me ; but I must 
do them the justice to say that, whether called on to fight, to march, to 
wade streams, to make roads, clear out obstructions, build bridges, make 
' corduroy,' or tear up railroads, they have done it with alacrity and a 
degree of cheerfulness unsurpassed. A little loose in foraging, they 
' did some things they ought not to have done,' yet, on the whole, they 
have supplied the wants of the army with as little violence as could 
be expected, and as little loss as I calculated. Some of these foraging 
parties had encounters with the enemy which would, in ordinary times, 
rank as respectable battles. 

" The behavior of our troops in Savannah has been so manly, so 



898 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Dec. 

quiet, so perfect, that I take it as the best evidence of discipline and 
true courage. Never was a hostile city, filled with women and chil- 
dren, occupied by a large army with less disorder, or more system, 
order, and good government. The same general and generous spirit 
of confidence and good feeling pervades the army which it has ever 
afforded me especial pleasure to report on former occasions." 

Although Sherman's army was composed of four corps, the 
Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Seventeenth, and Twentieth, he had 
another made up from all of these, which, though unknown 
in the war office, wa^ of much service to him and of great 
damage to the enemy. It was known as the " Bummer " 
Corps. The word is not to be found in either of the Ameri- 
can unabridged dictionaries, though it has become historic. 
Who made it, or how it came into use, is not known. It may 
have been derived from the word bum-bailiff, which is a corrup- 
tion of bound-bailiff, a subordinate civil officer appointed to 
serve writs and to make executions, and bound with sureties 
for a faithful discharge of his trust ; or from bum-boat, a boat 
used for conveying provisions, fruit, and supplies from shore to 
ship. From the two words we get the full meaning of the 
term Bummer. 

Sherman could not start from Atlanta with sufficient sup- 
plies of bread, meat, and corn for his great march. He must 
live on the country. Hence he marched in four parallel col- 
umns, near enough to aid each other if attacked, yet far 
enough apart to mow a swath forty or fifty miles in width. 

The foraging party, numbering over five thousand, always 
on the alert, ever in the advance, kept ahead of Kilpatrick 
with his cavalry. 

" If I come to a town or village or plantation, and stop to 
obtain forage, I find that the infernal bummers have been 
there," said Kilpatrick. 

Having authority to take provisions, the bummers were not 
tardy in executing their trust. They went in squads, fought 
the Rebel skirmishers, and defeated Wheeler's cavalry in several 
encounters. No matter how rich a prize there might be of 
poultry in a farm-yard, the appearance of a Rebel brought them 
into line for mutual defence. 

Sometimes they came in with a dozen fresh horses loaded with 



1864.] SHERMAN'S ARMY. 399 

chickens, turkeys, and pigs. In one instance a squad, with 
live fowls dangling at their saddles, was confronted by Rebel 
cavalry. They formed in line, fired a volley, and started upon 
a charge. The galloping of the horses, accompanied by the 
flapping of wings, the cackling of hens, gobbling of .turkeys, and 
squealing of pigs, stampeded the horses of the enemy, and gave 
the bummers an easy victory. 

Farm wagons were confiscated and filled with provisions, — 
jars of jelly, preserves, pickles, and honey, baskets of sweet 
potatoes and legs of bacon. They often rode grandly in family 
carriages, accompanied by crowds of grinning negroes, who had 
pointed out the places where the planters had secreted provi- 
sions, and who watched for Rebels while the bummer secured 
his plunder ; and then, when the master was out of sight, bid 
good by forever to the old plantation, and with light hearts 
leaped the fences, on their way to freedom. 

There were two classes of bummers, — the regular soldier 
of the corps, who kept his comrades well supplied with good 
things, and the irregular member, whose chief care was to 
provide for himself. 

They were of great service, not only as foragers, but as 
flankers and scouts, keeping Sherman well informed of the 
whereabouts of the Rebels. Yet their lawlessness had a de- 
moralizing tendency. Some were tender-hearted, and took 
only what was needed to eat, while others ransacked houses, 
ripped open feather-beds, smashed looking-glasses and crock- 
ery, and tumbled tables and chairs about unceremoniously, 
frightening women and children. But a bummer outraging 
a woman would have been hung by his fellows on the nearest 
tree, or if not by them he would have had short respite of 
life from the soldiers in the ranks. 

While in Savannah they had no occasion to ply their voca- 
tion, as provisions were abundant. Noticing full-grown chick- 
ens picking up corn in the streets, I expressed my surprise to 
an officer of the Twentieth Corps. 

" The fact is," he replied, " we have lived on chickens all 
the way from Atlanta. We have had roast chicken, fried 
chicken, and stewed chicken, till we are tired of it." 

But when Sherman resumed his march through South Caro- 



400 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

Una, the bummers were keener than ever. The whole army 
was eager to begin the march. Each regiment, when it crossed 
the Savannah River, and set foot in South Carolina, gave a 
cheer. They were in the hot-bed of Secession. 

" We '11 make South Carolina howl ! " they said. 

I saw an unoccupied mansion, upon the floors of which 
were Brussels and tapestry carpeting, and mirrors of French 
plate-glass adorned the parlor. There was a library with 
well-filled shelves, and in the drawing-room a costly rose- 
wood piano, — all of which in an hour were licked up by 
the flames. 

Far away to the north, as far as the eye could reach, were 
pillars of smoke, ascending from other plantations. 

" We '11 purify their Secession hate by fire," said one. 

The soldiers evidently felt that they were commissioned to 
administer justice in the premises, and commenced by firing 
the premises of the South Carolinians. They were avengers, 
and their path through that proud State was marked by fire 
and desolation. " South Carolina began the Rebellion, and she 
shall suffer for it. If it had not been for her there would have 
been no war. She is responsible for all the misery, woe, and 
bloodshed." Such was the universal sentiment. 

Although Sherman's troops carried the torch in one hand 
and the sword in the other, and visited terrible retribution 
upon the Rebels, they were quick to relieve the wants of the 
truly loyal. A few days before reaching Savannah they came 
to a plantation owned by a man who through all the war 
had remained faithful to the Union. He had been hunted 
through the woods with bloodhounds by the Rebel conscript 
officers. Hearing the Yankees had arrived, he came out from 
his hiding-place, and joined the Twentieth Corps, with the 
intention of accompanying it to Savannah. The soldiers made 
up for him a purse of one hundred and thirty dollars. When 
it was presented he burst into tears. He could only say, so 
great was his emotion, " Gentlemen, I most heartily thank 
you. It is a kindness I never expected. I have been hunted 
through swamps month after month. My wife and children 
have been half starved, insulted, and abused, and all because 
we loved the old flag." 



1864.] SHEEMAN'S AEMY. 401 

The stories which were told by those refugees, of Union men 
and conscripts hunted by bloodhounds, of imprisonment and 
murder by Rebels, — of the sufferings of the Union prisoners 
at Millen, Libby, Salisbury, and Andersonville, — wrought the 
soldiers of Sherman's army into a frenzy of wrath against 
South Carolina. 



26 



402 FOUB YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

CHRISTIANITY AND BARBARISM. 

When Sherman's army entered Savannah the people of that 
city were on the verge of starvation. The Rebel authorities 
had not accumulated sufficient supplies for a long defence. They 
were ignorant of the intentions of Sherman when he left Atlanta, 
and were unable to see through his plan till too late to put the 
place in condition to withstand a siege. Breastworks were hastily 
thrown up on the west side of the city. The eastern approaches 
were strongly protected by a series of forts, turrets, and bat- 
teries built by slaves at the beginning of the war, in which were 
heavy guns commanding the river and the roads. No one had 
dreamed that the Yankees would come from the west. When 
Sherman was fairly on his march there was consternation in 
all the cities along the coast. Charleston expected him. 
Would he not aim directly toward the cradle of Secession? 
The people of Mobile believed that the fleet which was gather- 
ing in the Gulf was destined to co-operate with the " ruthless 
invader " in an attack upon them. The inhabitants of Bruns- 
wick expected to see l^m there. The citizens of Savannah 
were equally alarmed./ Proclamations and manifestoes were 
issued. Governor Brown called upon the Georgians to rise 
in their might ; but their former might was weakness now. 
They had lost heart. They saw that their cause was failing. 
Their armies, successful in the beginning, had won no victory 
for many months. The appeals of the Governor, the manifes- 
toes of the Rebel generals, the calls of municipal authorities, 
and the exhortations of Davis, awakened no enthusiasm. The 
planters did not hasten to the rendezvous, nor respond to the 
call to send provisions. The Rebel quartermasters and com- 
missaries were active in making forced levies, and the con- 
scription bureau was vigilant in bringing in reluctant recruits ; 
but before preparations for defending the city were completed, 
Sherman was thundering at the door. 



Ju^^$ 



y-riAA/l 




1864.] CHRISTIANITY AND BARBARISM. 403 

When he saw the destitution, he made an appeal to the hu- 
manity of the people of the North. Boston, New York, and 
Philadelphia were quick to respond. In Boston thirty thou- 
sand dollars were contributed in four days, a steamer chartered, 
loaded, and despatched on its errand of mercy. The occasion 
being so unusual, I deemed it worth while to visit Savannah, 
to be an eyewitness of the reception of the timely and munifi- 
cent gift. 

. The employment of the steamer Greyhound on such a mis- 
sion added to the interest. She was a captured blockade- 
runner, built at Greenock, Scotland, in 1863, purposely to run 
the blockade. She made one trip into Wilmington, and was 
seized while attempting to escape from that port. In every 
timber, plank, rivet, and brace was England's hatred of the 
North, support of the South, and cupidity for themselves ; but 
now she carried peace and good-will, not only to the people of 
Savannah, but to men of every clime and lineage, race and 
nation. The Greyhound speeding her way was a type and 
symbol of the American Republic, freighted with the world's 
best hopes, and sailing proudly forward to the future cen- 
turies. 

Among the passengers on board at the time of her capture 
was Miss Belle Boyd, of notoriety as^ spy, — bold, venture- 
some, and dashing, unscrupulous, bittfer in her hatred of the 
Yankees, regardless of truth or honor, if she could but serve 
the Rebels. She was of great service to them in the Shenan- 
doah. Being within the Union lines, she obtained information 
which on several occasions enabled Jackson to make those sud- 
den dashes which gave him his early fame. 

It was nearly dark on Saturday evening, January 14th, when 
the Greyhound discharged her pilot off Boston Light. The 
weather was thick, the wind southeast, but during the night it 
changed to the northwest and blew a gale. The cold was intense. 
Sunday morning found us in Holmes's Hole, covered with ice. 
At noon the gale abated, and we ran swiftly across the Vineyard 
Sound, shaping our course for Hatteras. Off Charleston we 
passed through the blockading fleet, which were gayly deco- 
rated in honor of the taking of Fort Fisher. The Rebel flag 
was floating defiantly over Sumter. On Thursday evening we 



40-4 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

dropped anchor off Port Royal, where a half-day was lost in 
obtaming permission from the custom-house to proceed to 
Savannah. The obstructions in Savannah River made it ne- 
cessary to enter Warsaw Sound and go up Wilmington River. 
With a colored pilot, — the only one obtainable, recommended 
by the Harbor-Master of Hilton Head, — the Greyhound put to 
sea once more, ran down the coast, and on Sunday morning en- 
tered the Sound. Our pilot professed to know all the crooks 
and turns of the river, but suddenly we found ourselves fast on 
a mud-bank. It was ebb-tide, and the incoming flood floated 
us again. Then the engines refused to work, the pumps having 
become foul, and the anchor was dropped just in season to save 
the steamer from drifting broadside upon a sandbar. It was 
ten miles to Thunderbolt Battery. The captain of a pilot-boat 
was kind enough to send Messrs. Briggs and Baldwin, of the 
committee of the citizens of Boston in charge of the supplies, 
Mr. Glidden, of the firm owning the Greyhound, and the 
writer, up to that point. We landed, and stood where the 
Rebels had made sad havoc of what was once a pleasant village. 
Some Iowa soldiers, on seediest horses and sorriest mules, were 
riding round on a frolic. Shiftless, long-haired, red-eyed men 
and women, lounging about, dressed in coarsest homespun, 
stared at us. A score of horses and mules were in sight, and 
here were collected old carts, wagons, and carriages which 
Sherman's boys had brought from the interior. 

" We want to get a horse and wagon to take us to Savan- 
nah," said one of the party to a little old man, standing at 
the door of a house. 

" Wal, I reckon ye can take any one of these yere," he said, 
pointing to the horses and mules. Such animals ! Ringboned, 
spavined, knock-kneed, wall-eyed, sore-backed, — mere hides 
and bones, some of them too weak to stand, others unable 
to lie down on account of stiff joints. 

" How far is it to Savannah ? " we asked of the residents of 
the village. 

" Three miles," said one. 

" Two miles and a half, I reckon," said a second. 

" Three miles and three quarters," was the estimate of a 
third person. 



1864.] CHRISTIANITY AND BARBAEISM. 405 

A woman, dressed in a plaid petticoat, a snuff-colored linsey- 
woolsey tunic, with a tawny countenance, black hair, and flash- 
ing black eyes, smoking a pipe, said : " I '11 tell yer how fur it 
be. Savannah be a frying-pan and Thunderbolt be the handle, 
and I live on the eend on it. It be four miles long, zactly." 

Two colored soldiers rode up, both on one horse, with " 55 " 
on their caps. 

" What regiment do you belong to ? " 

" The Fifty-Fifth Massachusetts." 

Their camp was a mile or so up river. A steamboat captain, 
who wished to communicate with the quartermaster, came up 
stream in his boat and kindly offered to take us to the Fifty- 
Fifth. It began to rain, and we landed near a fine old mansion 
surrounded by live-oaks, their gnarled branches draped with 
festoons of moss, where we thought to find accommodations for 
the night ; but no one answered our ringing. The doors were 
open, the windows smashed in ; marble mantels, of elaborate 
workmanship, marred and defaced ; the walls written over with 
doggerel. There were bunks in the parlors, broken crockery, 
old boots, — debris everywhere. 

The committee took possession of the premises and made 
themselves at home before a roaring fire, while the writer went 
out upon a reconnoissance, bringing back the intelligence that 
the camp of the Fifty-Fifth was a mile farther up the river. It 
was dark when we reached the hospitable shanty of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Fox, who, in the absence of Colonel Hartwell, was 
commanding the regiment, which had been there but twenty- 
four hours. The soldiers had no tents. 

One of the committee rode into Savannah, through a drench- 
ing rain, to report to General Grover. The night came on 
thick and dark. The rain was pouring in torrents. Colonel 
Fox, with great kindness, offered to escort us to a house near 
by, where we could find shelter. We splashed through the mud, 
holding on to each other's coat-tails, going over boots in muddy 
water, tumbling over logs, losing our way, being scratched by 
brambles, falling into ditches, bringing up against trees, halting 
at length against a fence, — following which we reached the 
house. The owner had fled, and the occupant had moved in 
because it was a free country and the place was inviting. He 



406 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Dec. 

had no bed for us, but quickly kindled a fire in one of the 
chambers and spread some quilts upon the floor. " I have n't 
much wood, but I reckon I can pick up something that will 
make a fire," said he. Then came the pitch-pine staves of a 
rice-cask ; then a bedstead, a broken chair, a wooden flower- 
pot ! 

The morning dawned bright and clear. General Grover 
sent out horses for us, and so we reached the city after many 
vexatious delays and rough experiences. 

The people in Savannah generally were ready to live once 
more in the Union. The fire of Secession had died out. 
There was not much sourness, — less even than I saw at Mem- 
phis when that city fell into our hands, less than was mani- 
fested in Louisville at the beginning of the war. 

At a meeting of the citizens resolutions expressive of grati- 
tude for the charity bestowed by Boston, New York, and Phil- 
adelphia were passed, also of a desire for future fellowship 
and amity. 

A store at the corner of Bay and Barnard Streets was taken 
for a depot, the city canvassed, and a registry made, of all 
who were in want. I passed a morning among the people who 
came for food. The air was keen. Ice had formed in the 
gutters, and some of the jolly young negroes, who had pro- 
vided themselves with old shoes and boots from the camp- 
grounds of Sherman's soldiers, were enjoying the luxurious 
pastime of a slide on the ice. The barefooted cuddled under 
the sunny side of the buildings. There was a motely crowd. 
Hundreds of both sexes, all ages, sizes, complexions, and cos- 
tumes ; gray-haired old men of Anglo-Saxon blood, with bags, 
bottles, and baskets ; colored patriarchs, who had been in bond- 
age many years, suddenly made freemen ; well-dressed women 
wearing crape for their husbands and sons who had fallen 
while fighting against the old flag, stood patiently waiting their 
turn to enter the building, where through the open doors 
they could see barrels of flour, pork, beans, and piles of bacon, 
hogsheads of sugar, molasses, and vinegar. There were wo- 
men with tattered dresses, — old silks and satins, years before 
in fashion, and laid aside as useless, but which now had be- 
come valuable through destitution. 



1864.] CHEISTIANITY AND BAKBARISM. 407 

There were women in linsey-woolsey, in negro and gunny 
cloth, in garments made from meal-bags, and men in Confed- 
erate gray and butternut brown ; a boy with a crimson plush 
jacket, made from the upholstering of a sofa ; men in short jack- 
ets, and little boys in long ones ; the cast-off clothes of soldiers ; 
the rags which had been picked up in the streets, and exhumed 
from garrets ; boots and shoes down at the heel, open at the 
instep, and gaping at the toes ; old bonnets of every descrip- 
tion, some with white and crimson feathers, and ribbons once 
bright and flaunting ; hats of every style worn by both sexes, 
palm-leaf, felt, straw, old and battered and well ventilated. 
One without a crown was worn by a man with red hair, sug- 
gestive of a chimney on fire, and flaming out at the top ! It 
was the ragman's jubilee for charity. 

One of the tickets issued by the city authorities, in the hand 
of a woman waiting her turn at the counter, read thus : — 

"CITY STORE. 

Mary Morrell. 
12 lbs. Flour, 
7 " Bacon, 
2 " Salt, 
' 2 qts. Vinegar." 

Andersonville, Belle Isle, Libby Prison, Millen, and Salis- 
bury will forever stand in suggestive contrast to this City Store 
in Savannah, furnished by the free-will offering of the loyal 
people of the North. 

" At Libby," reads the report of the United States Sanitary 
Committee, " a process of slow starvation was carried on. 
The corn-bread was of the roughest and coarsest description. 
Portions of the cob and husk were often found grated in with 
the meal. The crust was so thick and hard that the prisoners 
called it ' iron clad.' To render the bread eatable they grated 
it, and made mush of it ; but the crust they could not grate. 
Now and then, after long intervals, often of many weeks, a 
little meat was given them, perhaps two or three mouthfuls. 
At a later period they received a pint of black peas, with some 
vinegar, every week ; the peas were often full of worms, or 
maggots in a chrysalis state, which, when they made soup, 

floated on the surface But the most unaccountable 

and shameful act of all was yet to come. Shortly after this 



408 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Dec. 

general diminution of rations, in the month of January, the 
boxes (sent by friends in the North to the prisoners), which 
before had been regularly delivered, and in good order, were 
withheld. No reason was given. Three hundred arrived every 
week, and were received by Colonel Ould, Commissioner of 
Exchange ; but instead of being distributed, they were retained 
and piled up in warehouses near by, in full sight of the tanta- 
lized and hungry captives."* 

While these supplies were being distributed to the people of 
Savannah, thirty thousand Union prisoners in the hands of the 
Rebels in Southwestern Georgia were starving to death, — not 
from a scarcity of food, but in accordance with a deliberately 
formed plan to render them unfit for future service in the 
Union ranks by their inhuman treatment, should they live to 
be exchanged. 

What a page of darkness for the future historian ! 

On the other hand, the Rebel prisoners in the North received 
invariably the same rations, in quality and quantity, given 
to the Union soldiers in the field, with ample clothing, fuel, 
and shelter. So unexceptional was their treatment, that since 
the war a Southern writer, desirous of removing the load of 
infamy resting upon the South, has advertised for statements 
of unkind treatment in Northern prisons ! f 

Of the treatment of Union soldiers in the Southern prisons 
the United States Sanitary Commission says : — 

" The prisoners were almost invariably robbed of everything valuable 
in their possession ; sometimes on the field, at the instant of capture, 
sometimes by the prison authorities, in a quasi-official way, with the 
promise of return when exchanged or paroled, but which promise was 
never fulfilled. This robbery amounted often to a stripping of the per- 
son of even necessary clothing. Blankets and overcoats were almost 
always taken, and sometimes other articles ; in which case damaged 
ones were returned in their stead. This preliminary over, the captives 
were taken to prison." 

At the trial of Wirz, the commandant of Andersonville, Dr. 
John C. Bates, a surgeon of the Rebel service, testified as 
follows : — 

* Report of the United States Sanitary Commission. 
t See the Watchman, New York. 



1864.] CHRISTIANITY AND BARBARISM. 409 

"My attention was called to a patient in my ward who was only 
fifteen or sixteen years of age. I took much interest in him, owing to 
his youth. He would ask me to bring him a potato, bread, or biscuit, 
which I did. I put them in my pocket. He had scurvy and gangrene. 
I advised him not to cook the potato, but to eat it raw. He became 
more and more emaciated, his sores gangrened, and for want of food, 
and from lice, he died. I understood that it was against orders to take 
anything in to the prisoners, and hence I was shy in slipping food into 
my pockets. Others in the ward came to their death from the same 
causes. When I went there, there were two thousand or two thousand 
five hundred sick. I judge twenty or twenty -five thousand persons 
were crowded together. Some had made holes and burrows in the 
earth. Those under the sheds were doing comparatively well. I saw 
but little shelter, excepting what ingenuity had devised. I found them 
suffering with scurvy, dropsy, diarrhoea, gangrene, pneumonia, and other 
diseases. "When prisoners died, they were laid in wagons, head fore- 
most, to be carried off. I don't know how they were buried. The 
effluvia from the hospital was very offensive. If by accident my hand 
was abraded, I would not go into the hospital without putting a plaster 
oyer the affected part. If persons whose systems were reduced by 
inanition should by chance stump a toe or scratch the hand, the next 
report to me was gangrene, so potent was the regular hospital gangrene. 
The prisoners were more thickly confined in the stockade, — like ants 
and bees. Dogs were kept to hunt down the. prisoners who escaped. 
Fifty per cent of those who died might have been saved had the patients 
been propeidy cared for. The effect of the treatment of the prisoners 
was, morally as well as physically, injurious. There was much stealing 
among them. All lived each for himself. I suppose this was super- 
induced by their starving condition. Seeing the dying condition of some 
of them, I remarked to my student, ' I can't resuscitate them ; the 
weather is chilling ; it is a matter of impossibility.' I found persons 
lying dead sometimes among the living. Thinking they merely slept, 
I went to wake them up and found they had taken their everlasting 
sleep. This was in the hospital. I judge it was about the same in the 
stockade. There being no dead-house, I erected a tent for the purpose, 
but I soon found that a blanket or quilt had been clipped off the canvas ; 
and as the material could not be readily supplied, the dead-house was 
abandoned. I don't think any more dead-houses were erected. The 
daily ration was less in September, October, November, and December 
than it was from the 1st of January to the 20th of March. The men 
had not over twenty ounces of food in the twenty-four hours." 

The prison at Andersonville was established in January, 



410 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

1864, and was used a little more than a year. It was in the 
form of a quadrangle, 1,295 feet long, 865 feet wide. A small 
stream, rising from neighboring springs, flowed through the \ 
grounds. Within the enclosure, seventeen feet from the stock- ^ 
ade, the dead-line was established, marked by small posts, to 
which a slight strip of board was nailed. Upon the inner 
stockade were fifty-two sentry-boxes, in which the guards ' 
stood with loaded muskets ; while overlooking the enclosure ) 
were several forts, with field artillery in position, to pour grape \ 
and canister upon the perishing men at the first sign of insur- \ 
rection. 

Miss Clara Barton, the heroic and tender-hearted woman t 
who, in the employ of government, visited this charnel-house ' 
to identify the graves of the victims, thus reports: — , 

" Under the most favorable circumstances and best possible manage- j 
ment the supply of water would have been insufficient for half the num- 
ber of persons who had to use it. The existing arrangements must 
have aggravated the evil to the utmost extent. The sole establishments 
for cooking and baking were placed on -the bank of the stream immedi- ' 
ately above and between the two inner lines of the pallisades. The 
grease and refuse from them were found adhering to the banks at the 
time of our visit. The guards, to the number of three thousand six 
hundred, were principally encamped on the upper part of the stream, 
and when the heavy rains washed down the hillsides covered with thir- , 
ty thousand human beings, and the outlet below failed to discharge the 
flood which backed and filled the valley, the water must have become 
so foul and loathsome that every statement I have seen of its offensive- 
ness must fall short of the reality ; and yet within rifle-shot of the prison 
flowed a stream, fifteen feet wide and three feet deep, of pure, delicious 
water. Had the prison been placed so as to include a section of ' Sweet 
"Water Creek,' the inmates might have drank and bathed to their hearts' 
content." * 

The prisoners had no shelter from the fierce sun of summer, 
the pelting autumn rains, or the cold of winter, except a few 
tattered tents. Thousands were destitute of blankets. For 
refuge they dug burrows in the ground. 

Miss Barton says : — 

" The little caves are scooped out and arched in the form of ovens, 
* Miss Barton's Keport. 



1864.] CHEISTIANITY AND BARBAEISM. 411 

floored, ceiled, and strengthened, so far as the owners had means, with 
sticks and pieces of board, and some of them are provided with fire- 
places and chimneys. It would seem that there were cases, during the 
long rains, where the house would become the grave of its owner by 

falling upon him in the night During thirteen long months they 

knew neither shelter nor protection from the changeable skies above, 

nor the pitiless, unfeeling earth beneath 

"Think of thirty thousand men penned by close stockade upon twenty- 
six acres of ground, from which every tree and shrub had been uproot- 
ed for fuel to cook their scanty food, huddled like cattle, without shelter 
or blanket, half clad and hungry, with the dewy night setting in after a 
day of autumn rain. The hilltop would not hold them all, the valley 
was filled by the swollen brook. Seventeen feet from the stockade ran 
the fatal dead-line, beyond which no man might step and live. What 
did they do ? I need not ask where did they go, for on the face of the 
whole earth there was no place but this for them. But where did they 
place themselves ? How did they live ? Ay ! how did they die ? " 

Twelve thousand nine hundred and ninety graves are num- 
bered on the neighboring hitlside, — the starved and murdered 
of thirteen months, — one thousand per month, thirty-three per 
day ! Murdered by JefF Davis, Robert B. Lee, James Seddon, 
and John C. Breckenridge ! Murdered under official sanction, 
in accordance with premeditated design. Davis, Lee, Seddon, 
and Breckenridge may not have issued orders to starve the pris- 
oners ; but if cognizant of any inhumanity, it was in the power 
of Davis to stop it, and of Lee, as commander-in-chief of the 
army, as also of Seddon, and after him Breckenridge, secretaries 
of war. A word from either of these officials would have se- 
cured humane treatment. 

General Lee is beloved by the Southern people for his ami- 
ability, his gentleness and generosity, as well as his unselfish 
devotion to the cause of Secession. But the historian will 
doubtless keep in mind that to be amiable is to be worthy of 
esteem and confidence. Those who have espoused the cause 
of the Union cannot discover much amiability in one who re- 
mained in the service of the government as the confidant of the 
commander-in-chief of the army of the United States till hostili- 
ties were commenced, and then, three days after his resignation, 
accepted the command of the Rebel forces in Virginia. Fort 



412 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

Sumter was fired upon April 12, 1861. General Lee resigned 
liis commission in the service of the United States on the 
19th, and on the 22d took command of Rebel troops at Rich- 
mond. The State had not then seceded. The ordinance of Se- 
cession was passed by the convention on the 17th of the same 
month, to be submitted to popular vote for ratification on the 
third Tuesday of May. Without waiting for the action of the 
people of his State, General Lee issued his military orders and 
waged war against the United States. 

The future historian will not overlook the fact that General 
Lee, if not issuing direct orders for the starvation of Union pris- 
oners, made no remonstrance against the barbarities of Ander- 
sonville, or of the course taken to debauch the patriotism of the 
Union soldiers. It was promised that whoever would acknowl- 
edge allegiance to the Confederacy, or consent to make shoes 
or harness or clothing for the Rebels, should have the privilege 
of going out from the stockade, and finding comfortable quar- 
ters and plenty of food and clotliing. Thus tempted, some 
faltered, while others died rather than be released on such 
terms, preferring, in their love for the flag, to be thrown like 
logs into the dead-cart, and tumbled into the shallow trenches 
on the hillside ! 

Among the prisoners was a lad who pined for his far-off 
Northern home. Often his boyish heart went out lovingly to 
his father and mother and fair-haired sister. How could he 
die in that prison ! How close his eyes on all the bright years 
of the future ! How lie down in death in that loathsome place, 
when, by taking the oath of allegiance to the Southern Con- 
federacy, he could obtain freedom ? His comrades were dying. 
Every day the dead-cart came and bore them away by scores and 
hundreds. What a sight their stony eyes, sunken cheeks, and 
swaying limbs ! Around him was a crowd of living skeletons. 

" Take the oath and you shall live," said the tempter. What 
a trial ! Life was sweet. All that a man hath will he give for 
his life. How blessed if he could but hear once more the voice 
of his mother, or grasp again a father's hand ! What wonder 
that hunger, despair, and death, and the example of some of 
his comrades, made him weakly hesitate ? 

Too feeble to walk or to stand, he crawled away from the 



1864.] CHRISTIANITY AND BARBARISM. 413 

dying and the dead, over the ground reeking with filth. He 
had almost reached the gate beyond which were life and liberty. 
A comrade, stronger and older, suspected his purpose. Through 
the long, weary months this brave soldier had solaced his heart 
by taking at times from his bosom a little flag, — the stars and 
stripes, — adoring it as the most sacred of all earthly things. 
He held it before the boy. It was the flag he loved. He had 
sworn to support it, — never to forsake it. He had stood be- 
neath it in the fierce conflict, quailing not when the death- 
storm was thickest. Tears dimmed his eyes as he beheld it 
once more. Tremblingly he grasped it with his skeleton fin- 
gers, kissed it, laid it on his heart, and cried, " God help me ! 
I can't turn my back upon it. comrade, I am dying ; but I 
want you, if ever you get out of this horrible place, to tell my 
mother that I stood by the old flag to the last ! " 

And then, with the flag he loved lying on his heart, he closed 
his eyes, and his soul passed on to receive that reward which 
awaits those to whom duty is greater than life. 

" On Fame's eternal camping-ground 
Their silent tents are spread, 
And Glory guards, with solemn round, 
The bivouac of the dead." 

This is the contrast between Christian charity and barbaric 
hate, — not that all the people of the South were inhuman, or 
that men there are by nature more wicked than all others ; but 
the barbarity was the legitimate outgrowth of slavery. 

The armies of the South fought bravely and devotedly to 
establish a Confederacy with slavery for its corner-stone ; but 
not their valor, sacrifice, and endurance, not Stonewall Jack- 
son's religious enthusiasm or intrepidity, not Lee's military 
exploits, can avail to blot the horrors of Andersonville from 
the historic record. Their cause 

" Hath the primal, eldest curse upon it, 
A brother's murder." 



414 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

SCENES IN SAVANNAH. 

As I intended to spend some days in Savannah, I set out one 
afternoon in search of lodgings more commodious than those 
furnished at the Pulaski House, and I was directed to a house 
owned by a gentleman who, during the war, had resided in 
Paris, — a large brick mansion, fronting on one of the squares, 
elegantly finished and furnished. It had been taken care of, 
through the war, by two faithful negroes, Robert and his wife 
Aunt Nellie, both of them slaves. 

I rang the bell, and was ushered into the basement by their 
daughter Ellen, also a slave. Robert was fifty-three years of 
age, — a tall, stout, coal-black, slow-spoken, reflective man. 
Aunt Nellie was a year or two younger. Her features were 
of the African type ; her eyes large and lustrous. Her de- 
portment was lady-like, her language refined. She wore a 
gingham dress, and a white turban. 

Ellen, the daughter, had a fair countenance, regular fea- 
tures, of lighter hue than either father or mother. She ap- 
peared as much at ease as most young ladies who are accus- 
tomed to the amenities of society. 

Aunt Nellie called me by name. 

" I saw you yesterday at church," she said. 

She placed a chair for me before the fire, which burned 
cheerfully on the hearth. There was a vase of amaranths on 
the mantel, and lithographs on the walls. A clock ticked in 
one corner. There were cushioned arm-chairs. The room was 
neat and tidy, and had an air of cheerfulness. A little boy, 
four or five years old, was sitting by the side of Aunt Nellie, — 
her grand-nephew. He looked up wonderingly at the stranger, 
then gazed steadily into the fire with comical gravity. 

"You are from Boston, I understand," said Aunt Nellie. 
" I never have been to Boston, but I have been to New York 
several times with my master." 



1864.] SCENES IN SAVANNAH. 415 

" Did you have any desire to stay North ? " 

" No, sir, I can't say that I had. This was my home ; my 
children and friends, and my husband were all here." 

" But did you not wish to be free ? " 

" That is a very different thing, sir. God only knows how I 
longed to be free ; but my master was very kind. They used 
to tell me in New York that I could be free ; but I could n't 
make up my mind to leave master, and my husband. Perhaps 
if I had been abused as some of my people have, I should have 
thought differently about it." 

" Well, you are free now. I suppose that you never expected 
to see such a day as this ! " 

" I can't say that I expected to see it, but I knew it would 
come. I have prayed for it. I did n't hardly think it would 
come in my time, but I knew it must come, for God is just." 

" Did you not sometimes despair ? " 

" Never ! sir ; never ! But 0, it has been a terrible mystery, 
to know why the good Lord should so long afflict my people, 
and keep them in bondage, — to be abused, and trampled down, 
without any rights of their own, — with no ray of light in the 
future. Some of my folks said there was n't any God, for if 
there was he would n't let white folks do as they have done for 
so many years ; but I told them to wait, — and now they see 
what they have got by waiting. I told them that we were all 
of one blood, — white folks and black folks all come from one 
man and one woman, and that there was only one Jesus for 
all. I knew it, — I hneiv it/^' She spoke as if it were an in- 
disputable fact which had come by intuition. 

Here Aunt Nellie's sister and her husband came in. 

" I hope to make your better acquaintance," she said, cour- 
tesying. It is a common form of expression among the colored 
people of some parts of the South. She was larger, taller, 
and stouter than Aunt Nellie, younger in years, less refined, — 
a field hand, — one who had drunk deeply of the terrible cup 
which slavery had held to her lips. She wore a long gray dress 
of coarse cloth, — a frock with sleeves, gathered round the 
neck with a string, — the cheapest possible contrivance for a 
dress, her only garment, I judged. 

" These are new times to you," I said. 



416 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

" It is a dream, sir, — a dream ! 'Pears like I don't know 
where I am. When General Sherman come and said we were 
free, I did n't believe it, and I would n't believe it till the min- i 
ister (Rev. Mr. French) told us that we were free. It don't j' 
seem as if I was free, sir." She looked into the fire a moment, > 
and sat as if in a dream, but roused herself as I said, — | 

" Yes, you are free." \ 

" But that don't give me back my children, — my children, ) 
that I brought forth with pains such as white women have, — I 
that have been torn from my breast, and sold from me ; and , 
when I cried for them was tied up and had my back cut to 
pieces ! " 

She stopped talking to me, raised her eyes as if looking i 
into heaven, — reached up her hands imploringly, and cried ' 
in agony,— 

" Lord Jesus, have mercy ! How long, Lord ? Come, 
Jesus, and help me. 'Pears like I can't bear it, dear Lord. 
They is all taken from me. Lord. 'Pears like as if my heart 
would break. blessed Jesus, they say that I am free, but 
where are my children ! — my children ! — my children ! " 

Her hands fell, — tears rolled down her cheeks. She bowed 
her head, and sat moaning, wailing, and sobbing. ^ 

" You would n't believe me," said Aunt Nellie, speaking to 
her. " You said that there was no use in praying for deliv- 
erance ; that it was no use to trust God, — that he had for- 
gotten us ! " 

She rose and approached her sister, evidently to call her 
mind from the terrible reality of the past. " You used to 
come in here and go worry, worry, worry all day and all 
night, and say it was no use ; that you might as well die ; that 
you would be a great deal better off if you were dead. You 
would n't believe me when I said that the Lord would give de- 
liverance. You would n't believe that the Lord was good ; but 
just see what he has done for you, — made you free. Ai-e n't 
you willing to trust him now ? " 

The sister made no reply, but sat wiping away her tears, and 
sighing over the fate of her children. 

" Did you not feel sometimes like rising against your mas- 
ters ? " I asked of the husband. 



1864.] SCENES IN SAVANNAH. 417 

" Well, sir, I did feel hard sometimes, and I reckon that if it 
had n't been for the grace which Jesus gave us we should have 
done so ; but he had compassion on us, and helped us to bear 
it. We knew that he would hear us some time." 

" Did you ever try to escape ? " 

" No, sir. I was once interested in colonization, and talked 
of going to Africa, — of buying myself, and go there and be 
free. Rev. Mr. Gurley came here and gave a lecture. He 
was the agent of the Colonization Society, I reckon ; but just 
then there was so much excitement among the slaves about it, 
that our masters put a stop to it." 

" The good people of Boston are heaping coals of fire on the 
heads of the slaveliolders and Rebels," said Aunt Nellie. 

" How so ? " I asked. 

" Why, as soon as General Sherman took possession of the 
city, you send down ship-loads of provisions to them. They 
have fought you with all their might, and you whip them, and 
then go to feeding them." 

" I 'spect you intended that black and white folks should 
have them alike," said her sister. 

" Yes, that was the intention." 

" Not a mouthful have I had. I am as poor as white folks. 
All my life I have worked for them. I have given them houses 
and lands ; they have rode in their fine carriages, sat in their 
nice parlors, taken voyages over the waters, and had money 
enough, which I and my people earned for them. I have had 
my back cut up. I have been sent to jail because I cried for 
my children, which were stolen from me. I have been stripped 
of my clothing, exposed before men. My daughters have been 
compelled to break God's commandment, — they could n't help 
themselves, — I couldn't help them; white men have done 
with us just as they pleased. Now they turn me out of my poor 
old cabin, and say they own it. dear Jesus, help me ! " 

" Come, come, sister, don't take on ; but you just give thanks 
for what the Lord has (Jone for you," said Aunt Nellie. 

Her sister rose, stately as a queen, and said, — 

" I thank you, sir, for your kind words to me to-night. I 
thank all the good people in the North for what they have done 
for me and my people. The good Lord, be vnth you." 

27 



418 



FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[Dec. 



As she and her husband left the room, Aunt Nellie said, — 
"Poor girl ! she can't forget her children. She 's cried for 

them day and night." 

Never till then had I felt the full force of Whittier's burning 

lines : — 

" A groan from Eutaw's haunted wood, — 
A wail where Camden's martyrs fell, — 
By every shrine of patriot blood, 
From Moultrie's wall and Jasper's well ! 

" By storied hill and hallowed grot. 
By mossy wood and marshy glen. 
Whence rang of old the rifle-shot, 
And hurrying shout of Marion's men. 
The groan of breaking hearts is there, — 
The falling lash, the fetter's clank ! 
Slaves, SLAVES are breathing in that air 
Which old De Kalb and Sumter drank ! 

" What, ho ! our countrymen in chains ! 
The whip on woman's shrinking flesh ! 
Our soil yet reddening with the stains 
Caught from her scourging, warm and fresh ! ,^ 

What ! mothers from their children riven ! , 

What ! God's own image bought and sold ! 
Americans to market driven. 
And bartered, as the brute, for gold ! " 

The night of the 28th of January was a fearful one in Savan- 
nah. The inhabitants experienced all the terror of a bombard- 
ment combined with the horror of a great conflagration. A fire 
broke out a little before midnight in a long row of wooden build- 
ings at the west end of the city. The wind was fi^esh from the 
northwest, and the night exceedingly cold. My rooms were in 
the Pulaski House. I was awakened by a sudden explosion, 
which jarred the house, and heard the cry that the arsenal was 
on fire. 

Tliere was another explosion, — then a volley of shells, and 
large fragments came whirring through the air, striking the 
walls, or falling with a heavy plunge into the street. 

" There are three thousand shells in the building," said a 
soldier running past, fleeing as if for his life. 

" There are fifty tons of powder, which will go off presently," 
said another, in breathless haste. Fifty tons of powder ! Savan- 



1864.] SCENES m savannah. 419 

nail would be racked to its foundations ! There would be a 
general crumbling of walls. Men, women, and children were 
running, — crying, and in fear of being crushed beneath the 
ruins of falling buildings. 

It was the Rebel arsenal. I could not believe that the Rebels 
would store fifty tons of powder in the city, and waited for the 
general explosion. It did not come. Gradually I worked my 
way, under the shelter of buildings, towards the fire. The fire- 
engines were deserted, and the fire was having its own way, 
licking up the buildings, one after another, remorselessly. 

It was a gorgeous sight, — the flames leaping high in air, 
tlirown up in columns by the thirteen-inch shells, filling the air 
with burning timbers, cinders, and myriads of sparks. The 
streets were filled with fugitives. The hospitals were being 
cleared of sick and wounded, the houses of furniture. 

It was grand, but terrible. General Grover at once took 
measures to arrest the progress of the flames, by tearing down 
buildings, and bringing up several regiments, which, with the 
citizens and negroes, succeeded in mastering the destroying 
element. 

In the morning there was a wilderness of chimneys, and the 
streets were strewn with furniture. 

It was amusing to see with what good humor and nonchalance 
the colored people and the soldiers regarded the conflagration. 

Two negro women passed me, carrying great bundles on 
their heads. 
'■ " I 's clean burned out," said one. 

" So is I " ; and they both laughed as if it was very funny. 

" Let 'em burn : who cares ? " said one soldier. " They 
have fought us, and now let 'em suffer." 

" We have got to do guard duty, and it is a little more com- 
fortable to be quartered in a house than to sleep in a shelter- 
tent, so let us save the place," said another ; and the two went 
to work with a will to subdue the flames. 

General Sherman's Special Field Order No. 15, dated Janu- 
ary 16, 1865, permitted the freedmen to take possession of the 
abandoned lands. A meeting — called by General Sax ton, 
who had been appointed Inspector — was held in the Second 



420 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Dec. 

African Baptist Church, a large building, which was crowded 
to its utmost capacity bj the colored people. It was the first 
meeting ever held in Savannah having in view the exclusive 
interests of the colored people. 

The organist was playing a voluntary when I entered the 
church. He was a free colored man, a native of Charles- 
ton, having a bullet-shaped head, bright, sparkling eyes, and 
a pleasant voice. He had lived in Savannah nine years, and was 
a music-teacher, — giving instruction on the violin, piano-forte, 
and organ, also vocal music, to persons of his own race. He 
was in the habit of putting in clandestinely some of the rudi- 
ments of the English language, although it was against the 
peace and dignity of the State. He dared to open a school, 
and taught in secret in the evening ; but a policeman discov- 
ered that he was an incendiary, and he was compelled to hide 
till the matter was forgotten. 

When the voluntary was completed, the choir sung Rev. Mr. 
Smith's American hymn, — 

" My country, 't is of thee, 
Sweet land of liberty, 
Of thee I sing." 

Their country ! Their liberty ! The words were no longer 
meaningless. 

By request of General Saxton, they also sang Bishop He- 
ber's Missionary hymn, — 

" From Greenland's icy mountains, 
From India's coral strand, 
Where Afric's sunny fountains 
Roll down their golden sand, 
From many an ancient river, 
From many a palmy plain, 
They call us to deliver 

Their land from error's chain." 

General Saxton addressed them. 

" I have come to tell you what the President of the United 
States has done for you," said he. 

" God bless Massa Linkum ! " was the response of a thou- 
sand voices. 

" You are all free." 

" Glory to God ! Hallelujah ! Amen ! " they shouted in 
tumultuous chorus. 



1864.] SCENES m savannah. 421 

He explained the cause of the war: how the Rebels fired 
upon the flag, how they hated freedom, and wished to per- 
petuate slavery, which produced the war, that, in turn, under 
God's providence, had made them free men. They were free, 
but they must labor to live. Their relations to their masters 
had all been changed. They could go where they pleased, do 
what they pleased, provided they did that which was right ; but 
they had no claim upon their masters, — they must work for 
themselves. All wealth came from the soil, and by cultivating 
the ground they could obtain food, and thus increase their 
wealth. He read and explained General Sherman's order, and 
told them of the advancement which the freedmen had made 
at Beaufort. They had comfortable homes, their children were 
attending school, and the men and women had almost forgot- 
ten that they had been slaves. One man had accumulated 
ten thousand dollars in four years ; another was worth five 
thousand. He advised them to go upon the islands and take 
possession of the abandoned lands. He also advised the young 
and able-bodied to enlist in the service of the United States. 
They were citizens, and they must begin to do their part as 
citizens. They were free, but there was still some fighting to 
be done to secure their liberty. 

Rev. Mr. French also addressed them. 

" Your freedom," said he, " is the gift of God. The Pres- 
ident has proclaimed it, and the brave men of General Sher- 
man's army have brought it to you." 

" God bless General Sherman ! Amen ! That 's so ! " were 
the enthusiastic responses. They clapped their hands and 
gave expression to their joy in emphatic demonstrations. It 
was a strange sight, — a sea of turbaned heads in the body of 
the house, occupied by the women, wearing brightest colored 
handkerchiefs, or bonnets with flaming ribbons ; while above, in 
the galleries, were two sable clouds of faces. Every window 
was filled by a joyous, enthusiastic crowd. 

" You are to show your late masters that you can take care 
of yourselves. If I were in your place I would go, if I had to 
live on roots and water, and take possession of the islands," 
said Mr. French. 

" Yes, sir, dat is what we will do. We 're gwine." 



422 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

" Show your old masters that you can work as hard to keep 
out of slavery as they did to keep you in bondage. And you 
must have but one wife, instead of two or three, as you used 
to do." 

There was a great sensation at this point, — an outburst of 
laughter echoing and re-echoing from floor to ceiling. I was 
utterly unable to understand how the remark was received, but 
the sable audience evidently looked upon it as a very funny 
affair. The negro race has a quick and natural appreciation 
of anything bordering upon the ridiculous. They boil over 
with uncontrollable merriment at a very small matter. 

" Treat your old masters with all respect ; be generous and 
kind to them. This is your day of rejoicing, and they are 
drinking their cup of sorrow. Do them good, — help them. 
Break off bad habits, — be good citizens, truthful and honest. 
Now, all of you who are ready to scratch for a lining, — who 
are resolved to make your own way in the world, — hold up 
your hands." 

Up went a thousand hands. 

" You owe your liberty to the men of the North, to Presi- 
dent Lincoln, to the thousands who have died, — to Jesus 
Christ." 

Deep and solemn was the Amen, — a spontaneous outburst 
of gratitude, welling up from their sympathetic and affectionate 
natures. 

A prayer was offered by Rev. Mr. Houston, of the Third 
African Baptist Church. It was impassioned, fervent, and 
earnest, in which there were thanksgiving, confession of sin, 
and a pleading for God's help. The President, the Union 
army, the Federal government, were remembered. He prayed 
also that God would bring the Rebels to see that they ought to 
lay down their arms and be at peace. 

Then in conclusion they sang the hymn, — 

" Eternal are thy mercies, Lord, 
Eternal truth attends thy word." 

How gloriously the grand old choral of Luther rang ! Old 
men sang, — tottering upon the verge of the grave, their heads 
white, their voices tremulous, their sight dim; women with 
scarred backs sang, — who had toiled unrequited in the mala- 



1864.] SCENES IN SAVANNAH. 423 

rious rice-swamps, who had prayed in dungeons and prisons, 
who had wept and moaned for their stolen babes, — for their 
husbands, mangled and torn by bloodhounds. But that was 
all of the past. The day of jubilee had dawned. They had 
cried day and night, " Lord, how long ! " But now they 
had only thanksgiving and praise. 

After the meeting there was a general shaking of hands. 
" Bless de Lord for dis yere day." " May de good Lord be 
wid you." " I never 'spected to see dis yere day ; but de 
praise belongs to de good Lord ; he be wid you, brudder." 

Such were the congratulations. There were none of the 
white people of Savannah present. Before the men of the 
West entered the city, such a gathering, even for religious 
worship, would have been incendiary unless attended by white 
men. But it was an inauguration of a new era, — a beginning 
of the settlement of the question over which philanthropists, 
politicians, and statesmen had puzzled their philosophic brains : 
" What shall we do with them ? " 

Rev. Mr. Houston accompanied me to my room, and gave me 
a history of his life. He was forty-one years old, had always 
been a slave, and received his freedom at the hands of General 
Sherman. When a boy his master hired him out to the Marine 
Hospital. Waiting upon the sailors, he had an opportunity to 
hear a great deal about the world. They had books and papers. 
He had a desire to learn to read, and they, not having the black 
laws of Georgia before their eyes, taught him his letters. Then 
obtaining a Bible, and other books, he read with great zeal. 
He wanted to be a preacher, and after examination by the Bap- 
tist Association, was ordained to preach by white men. He 
purchased his time before the war, paying fifty dollars a month 
to his master, and became a provision-dealer, yet preaching on 
Sundays. He leased the lower story of a building fronting the 
market, where he sold his meat and where he lived. Above 
him, up two flights, was the slave-mart of Savannah. He used 
to go into the country, up the railroad to the centre of the 
State, to purchase cattle, and became well acquainted with the 
planters. He heard their discussions on current affairs, and 
thus received information upon the politics of the country. He 
gave an account of the state of affairs, of opinions held in the 



424 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

North and in the South at the time when Fremont was a can- 
didate for the Presidency. 

" We knew that he was our friend," said Mr. Houston, " and 
we wanted him elected. We were very much disappointed at 
tlie result of that election ; but we kept hoping and praying 
that God would have mercy on us as a race." 

" Did your people understand the points at issue between the 
South and the North, when the war begun ? " I asked, 

" Yes, sir, I think we did. When South Carolina fired on 
Sumter we understood that the North was fighting for the 
Union. The flag had been insulted, and we thought that you 
of the North would have spunk enough to resent the insult. 
Those of us who could read the papers knew that the points 
at issue really were between Freedom and Slavery." 

" What did you think when we were defeated at Manassas ? 
Did you not despair ? " 

" No, sir. I knew that the North would not give in for one 
defeat. Some of our people were down-hearted, but I had 
faith in God, sir. I felt that the war must go on till we were 
made free. Besides, we prayed, sir! There have been a great 
many prayers, sir, offered up from broken-hearted men and 
women, — from negro cabins, not in public, — for the success 
of the North. They could not offer such supplications at 
church ; they were offered to a God who sees in secret, but 
who rewards openly. We are receiving all we ever asked for. 
Bless his holy name." 

" You have seen people sold in the market, I suppose ? " 

" yes, sir, thousands of them. 0, sir, it seems as if I now 
could hear the groans and cries of mothers and fathers as they 
marched down those stairs out into the street in gangs, — their 
chains rattling and clanking on the stairs. It was hell, sir ! 
The wailings of the damned can never be more heart-rending, 
as they were driven out, crying, ' Lord ! have mercy ! 
massa, don't ! don't ! my poor children! ' " 

His eyes shone with a strange light. The muscles of his 
hands tightened. He arose and walked the room, wiped the 
tears from his eyes, but composing himself sat down, and said: 
" Iniquity was at its height when the war began, and it con- 
tinued till General Sherman came. 0, it was terrible ! terri- 



1864.] SCENES m savannah. 425 

ble ! to be there in that room on the lower floor, and see the 
hundreds taken out, — to see them nabbed in the streets, or 
taken from their beds at dead of night by the sheriff, and sold 
at once ; for since the war began white men have been obliged 
often to raise money suddenly, and slave property being espe- 
cially insecure, we were liable to be sold at any moment. Run- 
away slaves were whipped unmercifully. Last summer I saw 
one receive five hundred lashes out on the Gulf Railroad, be- 
cause he could n't give an account of himself. The man who 
kept the slave-market left the city with a large number of slaves 
just before Sherman came, taking them South ; but he is back 
in the city. He is a bitter old Rebel." 

Mr. Houston and a party of freedmen had been to Skidaway 
Island to take possession of lands under General Sherman's 
order, and commence a colony. 

They laid out a village, also farm lots of forty acres, set aside 
one central lot for a church, another for a school-house ; then 
placing numbers in a hat, made the allotment. It was Plymouth 
Colony repeating itself. They agreed that if any others came 
to join them they should have equal privileges. So the May- 
flower was blooming on the islands of the South Atlantic ! 

" We shall build our cabins and organize our town govern- 
ment for the maintenance of order," said Mr. Houston. 

" I told you that I hired my time of my master," said he. 
" My master hired my money, and when I asked him for it he 
refused to pay me ; and as I had no power before the law, I 
could not compel him, and have lost it. I have about five 
hundred hides, which I would like to send North. I want to 
purchase a portable saw-mill. We shall need lumber, — must 
have it to build our houses and our church." 

Such was his plan, — indicating a foresight which gave prom- 
ise of a prosperous future. 

Passing by a church, I saw the sexton, with brush in hand, 
sweeping the aisles. The edifice was a substantial, ancient struc- 
ture, with a mahogany pulpit of the old style, a broad aisle, 
chandelier pendent from the arched roof, filagree and panel- 
work around the galleries. Old and aristocratic families had 
sat In the cushioned pews, — men of vast wealth, owning 



426 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

houses, lands, and slaves. A great organ loomed high up 
in the gallery, its gilt pipes fronting the pulpit. Marriages 
and funerals had been solemnized at the altar. For fifteen 
years, Sunday after Sunday, this sexton had faithfully dis- 
charged his duties at the church. 

He was stout, thick-set, strong, with well-developed muscles 
and a clear eye. He was gentlemanly in his deportment, and 
his voice was one of the most musical I ever heard. 

" Shall I take a look at the church ? " 

" Certainly, sir. Walk in." 

His words were as if he had chanted them, so faultless the 
tone, inflection, and cadence. His features were well formed, 
but anthracite coal is not blacker than his complexion. I was 
interested in him at once. He leaning upon his broom, and I 
sitting in one of the pews, had a free conversation upon the 
events of his life. 

He was born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1829. 

" My old master died," said he, " and I fell to his son, who 
went off to college and got to spreeing it, lost all his property, 
and of course I had to be sold. I brought twelve hundred dol- 
lars, — that was in 1849, — but another man offered the man 
who bought me a hundred and fifty dollars bonus for his bar- 
gain, which was accepted, and I was brought to Charleston. 
I have always been a slave." 

" But you are a free man now ; just as free as I am." 

" Yes, sir, so General Sherman told me. I had a talk with 
him ; and he talked just as free with me as if I was his own 
brother. But I don't feel it in my heart, sir, to go away and 
leave my old master, now that he is poor, and calamity has 
come upon him," 

" Has he always treated you well ? " 

." Yes, sir, — that is, he never scarred my back. Some mas- 
ters are mighty hard, sir. I don't blame some negroes for 
running away from their masters now that they can, for they 
have been treated mighty bad, sir; but my master has had 
great calamity come upon him, sir. When I was brought here 
from Norfolk, master's son Bob, who is in Texas, — a captain in 
the Southern army now, — saw me, and liked me, and I liked 
him, and his father bought me for Bob, and Bob and I have 



1864.] SCENES IN SAVANNAH. 427 

been like brothers to each other. I have no complaint to make. 
But master has lost two sons in Virginia. One of them was 
killed in the first battle of Manassas." 

" I suppose you have heard many prayers here for Jeff 
Davis ? " 

" Yes, sir, and mighty fine sermons for the Southern army, 
sir ; and there have been solemn scenes in this church, sir. 
Six bodies, one Sunday, after the first battle of Manassas, were 
here in this broad aisle. I had the communion-table set out 
here, right in front of the pulpit, and there they lay, — six of 
'em. I could n't help crying when I saw 'em, for they were 
just like old friends to me. They used to attend the Sunday 
school when they were boys, and used to cut up a little wild, 
and it was my business to keep 'em straight. They belonged 
to the Oglethorpe Light Infantry, and went with Colonel Bar- 
ton. They went away gayly, and thought they were going to 
Richmond to have a nice time. Their mothers and sisters told 
them to go and fight the Yankees. They did n't expect to see 
them brought back dead, I reckon. It was a sad day, sir." 

" Then the women were as eager as the men for the war ? " 

"Yes, sir, — more. They were crazy about fighting the 
Yankees. I know that some of the boys did n't want to fight 
against the flag, but the women made 'em. The men had 
to wear Secession badges, as something to show that they 
were for the South. If it had n't been for the ladies, I reckon 
we would n't have had the war." 

" What do the women think now ? " 

" "Well, sir, some of them are as bitter as ever they were 
against the Yankees, but I reckon they don't care to say much ; 
and then there are others who see it ain't no use to try to hold 
out any longer. There are lots of 'em who have lost their 
husbands and brothers and sons. I reckon there are very few 
of the Light Infantry left. I know 'em all, for I took care of 
their hall, — their armory, — and they made me hoist the flag 
one day union down. That made me feel very bad, sir. I 
always loved the flag, and I love it now better than ever. It 
makes me feel bad to think that my boys fought against it (he 
meant the boys who attended the Sunday school). But I 
reckon it is the Lord's doing, sir, and that it will be a blessing 
to us in the end." 



428 FOUE YEAES OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

" Can you read and write ? " I asked. 

" A little, sir. I never had any one to show me, but I used 
to sit down here in the pews and take up the hymn-book, and 
spell out the words, and one day master Bob set me a copy 
in writing, and so I have learned a little. I can read the 
newspapers, sir, and have kept track of the war." 

Upon the first battle of Manassas, the Peninsular campaigns, 
the blowing up of the Merrimac, the battles of Antietam, Gettys- 
burg, Vicksburg, New Orleans, and Sherman's campaign, he 
was well informed. He had a brother who was fighting for the 
Union. 

" He is a brave fellow, and I know he won't show the white 
feather," said he. 

We talked upon the prospects of the colored people now that 
they were free. 

" I reckon, sir," said he, " that a good many of 'em will be 
disappointed. They don't know what freedom is. But they 
will find that they have got to work, or else they won't get any- 
thing to eat. They are poor, ignorant creatures ; but I reckon, 
sir, that after a while, when things get settled, they will learn 
how to take care of themselves. But I think they are mighty 
foolish to clear out and leave their old masters, when they can 
have good situations, and good pay, and little to do. Then, 
sir, it is kind of ungrateful like, to go away and leave their old 
masters when the day of calamity comes. I could not do it, 
sir ; besides, I reckon I will be better ofi" to stay here for the 
present, sir." 

I informed him that I was from Massachusetts. 

" I know something about Massachusetts, and I reckon it is 
a mighty fine State, sir. • I have heard you abused, and the 
people of Boston also. Savannah people said hard things about 
you: that you were abolitionists, and wanted the negroes to 
have equal privileges with the white men. My father, when 
I was in Norfolk, undertook to get to Massachusetts, but he 
was hunted down in the swamps and sold South, away down 
to Alabama, and that is the last I have heard of him. I have 
always liked Massachusetts. I reckon you are a liberal people 
up there. I hear you have sent a ship-load of provisions to us 
poor people." 



1864.] SCENES m savannah. 429 

I gave liim information upon the subject, and spoke of Mr. 
Everett, who made a speech at the meeting in Faneuil Hall. 

" Mr. Everett ! I. reckon I heard him talk about General 
"Washington once here, five or six years ago. He was a mighty- 
fine speaker, sir. The house was crowded." 

The sun was setting low, and the sexton had other duties. 
As I left the church, he said : " Come round, sir, some after- 
noon, and I will take you up to the steeple, so that you can get 
a sight of the city, and may be you play the organ. I love to 
hear music, sir." 

How strangely this will read fifty years hence ! The words 
slave, — master, — sold, — hunted down, will make this present 
time seem an impossibility to those who live after us. This 
sexton — a slave — heard the minister preach of the loosing of 
the bonds of the oppressed, and of doing unto others as they 
would be done by, yet he found in his own experience such a 
Gospel a lie. His bonds were not loosened ; and the boys of 
the Sunday school, the petted sons of Savannah, went out from 
their aristocratic homes to perpetuate that lie. At last through 
war came deliverance ; and yet there was so much gentleness in 
the heart of this man, that in the day of calamity which came 
to his master, when his sons one by one were killed in their 
endeavors to sustain that lie ; when his property disappeared 
like dew before the morning sun ; when his pride was humili- 
ated ; when his daughters, who were expectants of immense 
fortunes, were compelled to do menial service, — this servant, 
though a free man, could not find it in his heart to leave them, 
and take the liberty he loved ! It may have been an excep- 
tional case ; but it shows an interesting feature of Southern 
life. The words of this sexton of Savannah will adorn the 
historic page. " I reckon, sir, that it is the Lord's doing, and 
that it will be a blessing to us in the end." 

Society in the South, and especially in Savannah, had under- 
gone a great change. The extremes of social life were very 
wide apart before the war; they were no nearer the night 
before Sherman marched into the city ; but the morning after 
there was a convulsion, an upheaval, a shaking up and a 
settling down of all the discordant elements. The tread of 
that army of the West, as it moved in solid column through 



430 rOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

the streets, was like a moral earthquake, overturning aristocratic 
pride, privilege, and power. 

Old houses, with foundations laid deep and strong in the cen- 
turies, fortified by wealth, name, and influence, went down be- 
neath the shock. The general disruption of the former rela- 
tions of master and slave, and forced submission to the Union 
arms, produced a common level. A reversal of the poles of 
the earth would hardly have produced a greater physical con- 
vulsion than this sudden and unexpected change in the social 
condition of the people of the city. 

On the night before Sherman entered the place there were 
citizens who could enumerate their wealth by millions ; at sun- 
rise the next morning they were worth scarcely a dime. Their 
property had been in cotton, negroes, houses, land. Confederate 
bonds and currency, railroad and bank stocks. Government 
h'ad seized their cotton; the negroes had possession of their 
lands ; their slaves had become freemen ; their houses were 
occupied by troops ; Confederate bonds were waste paper ; their 
railroads were destroyed ; their banks insolvent. They had not 
only lost wealth, but they had lost their cause. And there 
were some who were willing to confess that they had been 
fighting for a system of iniquity. 

One could not ask for more courteous treatment than I 
received during my stay in Savannah. I am indebted to 
many ladies and gentlemen of that city for kind invitations 
to pass an evening with them. There was no concealment 
of opinion on either side, but with the utmost good feeling 
full expression was given to our differing sentiments. 

" We went into the war in good faith ; we thought we were 
right ; we confidently expected to establish our independence ; 
but we are whipped, and have got to make the best of it," was 
the frank acknowledgment of several gentlemen. 

" I hate you of the North," said a young lady. It came 
squarely, and the tone indicated a little irritation. 

" I am very sorry for it. I can hardly think that you really 
hate us. You don't hate me individually ? " 

" no. You come here as a gentleman. I should indeed 
be rude and unladylike to say that I hated you ; but I mean 
the Yankees in general. "We never can live together in peace 
again. For one, I hope to leave the country." 



1864.] SCENES IN SAVANNAH. 431 

" If I were to reside here, you of course would treat me 
courteously so long as I was a gentleman in my deportment ? " 

" Certainly ; but you are an individual." 

" But if two individuals can live peacefully, why not ten, — 
or a hundred, — a thousand, — all ? " 

She hesitated a moment ; and then, with flashing eyes and 
flushed countenance, which added charms to her beauty, said, 
" Well, it is hard — and you will not think any worse of me 
for saying it — to have your friends killed, your servants all 
taken away, your lands confiscated ; and then know that you 
have failed, — that you have been whipped. I wish that we 
had the power to whip you ; but we have n't, and must make 
the best of it. What we are to do I don't know. We have 
been able to have everything that money could buy, and now 
we have n't a dollar. I don't care anything about keeping the 
negroes in slavery ; but there is one feeling which we Southern- 
ers have that you cannot enter into. My old mamma who 
nursed me is just like a mother to me ; but there is one thing 
that I never will submit to, — that the negro is our equal. 
He belongs to an inferior race." 

She laid down the argument in the palm of her hand with a 
great deal of emphasis. 

" Your energy, boldness, and candor are admirable. If under 
defeat and disaster you sat down supinely and folded your hands, 
there would be little hope of your rising again ; but your deter- 
mination to make the best of it shows that you will adapt your- 
self readily to the new order of things. There never will be com- 
plete equality in society. Political and social equality are 
separate and distinct. Rowdies and ragamuffins have natural 
rights : they may have a right to vote, they may be citizens ; 
but that does not necessarily entitle them to free entrance into 
our homes. 

The idea was evidently new to the young lady, — and not 
only to her, but to all in the room. To them the abolition of 
slavery was the breaking down of all social distinctions. So 
long as the negro was compelled to enter the parlor as a ser- 
vant, they could endure his presence ; but freedom implied the 
possibility, they imagined, of his entrance as an equal, entitled 
to a place at their firesides and a seat at their tables. The 
thought was intolerable. 



432 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

The poor whites of the South are far below the colored 
people in ability and force of character. They are a class 
from which there is little to hope. Nothing rouses their am- 
bition. Like the Indians, they are content with food for to- 
day ; to-morrow will take care of itself. In the cities they 
swarm along the sides of buildings on sunny days, and at 
night crawl into their miserable cabins with little more aspira- 
tion than dogs that seek their kennels. Undoubtedly there is 
far less suffering among the poor of the Southern cities than 
among the poor of New York, where life is ever a struggle 
with want. The South has a milder climate, nature requires 
less labor for production, and the commercial centres are not 
overcrowded. The poor whites of the South maintain no battle 
with starvation, but surrender resignedly to poverty. They 
can exist without much labor, and are too indolent to strive 
to rise to a higher level of existence. The war has taken their 
best blood. Only shreds and dregs remain. 

" What can be done for the poor whites ? " 

It is a momentous question for the consideration of philan- 
thropists and statesmen. 

They are very ignorant. Their dialect is a mixture of 
English and African, having words and phrases belonging to 
neither language ; though the patois is not confined to this 
class, but is sometimes heard in sumptuously furnished parlors. 

" I suppose that you will not be sorry when the war is over," 
I remarked to a lady in Savannah. 

" No, sir. I reckon the Confederacy is done gone for," was 
the reply. 

It is reported that a North Carolina colonel of cavalry was 
heard to address his command thus, — " 'Tention, battalion. 
Prepare to gen orto yer critter. Git ! " 

The order to ride rapidly was, " Dust right smart ! " 

You hear young ladies say. Paw, for Pa, Maw, for Ma, and 
then, curiously adding another vowel sound, they say kear for 
car, tliear for there. 

The poor whites of the country are called " poor white 
trash," " crokers," "clay-eaters," " sand-hillers," and "swamp 
angels," by the educated whites. There is no homogeneity of 
white society. The planters, as a rule, have quite as much 
respect for the negroes as for the shiftless whites. 



1864.] SCENES m savannah. 433 

Yet these miserable wretches are exceedingly bitter against 
the North: it is the bitterness of ignorance, — brutal, cruel, 
fiendish, produced by caste, by the spirit of slavery. There is 
more hope, therefore, of the blacks, in the future, than of this 
degraded class. The colored people believe that the people of 
the North are their friends. Freedom, food, schools, all were 
given by the Yankees ; hence gratitude and confidence on 
the part of the freedmen ; hence, on the part of the poor 
whites, hatred of the North and cruelty toward the negro. 
Idleness, not occupation, has been, and is, their normal con- 
dition. It is ingrained in their nature to despise work. In- 
dolence is a virtue, laziness no reproach. Thus slavery arrayed 
society against every law of God, moral and physical. 

The poor whites were in bondage as well as the blacks, and to 
all appearance will remain so, while the natural buoyancy of the 
negro makes him rise readily to new exigencies ; with freedom he 
is at once eager to obtain knowledge and acquire landed estates. 

The colored people who had taken up lands on the islands 
under General Sherman's order met for consultation in the 
Slave Market, at the corner of St. Julian Street and Market 
Square. I passed up the two flights of stairs down which thou- 
sands of slaves had been dragged, chained in coffle, and entered 
a large hall. At the farther end was an elevated platform about 
eight feet square, — the auctioneer 's block. The windows were 
grated with iron. In an anteroom at the right women had 
been stripped and exposed to the gaze of brutal men. A col- 
ored man was praying when I entered, giving thanks to God 
for the freedom of his race, and asking for a blessing on their 
undertaking. After prayers they broke out into singing. 
Lieutenant Ketchum of General Saxton's staff, who had been 
placed in charge of the confiscated lands, was present, to an- 
swer their questions. 

" I would like to know what title we shall have to our lands, 
or to the improvements we shall make ? " was the plain ques- 
tion of a tall black man. 

" You will have the faith and honor of the United States," 
was the reply. 

Rev. Mr. French informed them that the government could 
not give them deeds of the land, but that General Sherman had 

28 



434 



rOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[Dec. 



issued the order, and without doubt President Lincobi would 
see it was carried out. " Can't you trust the President who 
gave you your freedom ? " he asked. 

A stout man, with a yellow complexion, rose in the centre 
of the house : " I have a house here in the city. I can get a 
good living here, and I don't want to go to the islands unless I 
can be assured of a title to the land ; and I think that is the 
feeling of four fifths present." 

" That 's so ! " " Yes, brother ! " was responded. There 
was evidently a reluctance to becoming pioneers in such an 
enterprise, — to leaving the city unless the guaranty were sure. 

Another man rose. " My bredren, I want to raise cotton, 
and I 'm gwine." 

It was a short but effective speech. With keen, sharp in- 
tellect, he had comprehended the great commercial question of 
the day. He knew that it would pay to raise cotton on lands 
which had been held at fabulous prices when the staple was 
worth but ten or fifteen cents. He was going to improve the 
opportunity to raise cotton, even if he did not become a holder 
of the estate. 

" I 'm gwine ye, brudder ! " " So will I ! " and there was a 
general shaking of hands as if that were sealing a contract. 
Having determined to go, they joined in singing " The Freed- 
meh's Battle-Hymn," sung as a solo and repeated in chorus : — 



FREEDMEN'S BATTLE-HYMN. 



I 



^4= 






^=T 



I I I 



^—d—d— ^—i—i 



I'll fight for Lib - er - ty, 



9r3=rt 



-#■ .#- -^ ■#- ■#- ■#-* -r — -m- •»■ -0- -^ •»■■*- -0- 



I'll fight for Lib - 





9l^ 






fight 



4=d3JSliM 



fS" 



I I 

for Lib - er 



^i 



r> n 



ty. 



1864.] SCENES IN SAVANNAH. 435 

Solo. — I '11 fight for Liberty, 
I 'U fight for Liberty, 
I'll fight — I'll fight for Liberty. 
Chorus. — In the New Jerusalem, 
In the New Jerusalem, 
In the New — the New Jerusalem. 

I 'm not afraid to die, 
I 'm not afi-aid to die, 
I 'm not — I 'm not afi-aid to die. 

Chorus. — In the New, &c. 

I shall meet my Saviour there, 
I shall meet my Saviour there, 
I shall meet — shall meet my Saviour there. 
Chorus. — In the New, &c. 

I shall wear a starry crown, 
I shall wear a starry crown, 
I shall wear — I shall wear a starry crown. 
Chorus. — In the New, &c. 

The colored soldiers of Foster's army sang it at the battle 
of Honey Hill, while preparing to go into the fight. How 
gloriously it sounded now, sung by five hundred freedmen in 
the Savannah slave-mart, where some of the singers had been 
sold in days gone by! It was worth a trip from Boston to 
Savannah to hear it. 

The next morning, in the same room, I saw a school of one 
hundred colored children assembled, taught by colored teachers, 
who sat on the auctioneer's platform, from which had risen 
voices of despair instead of accents of love, brutal cursing 
instead of Christian teaching. I listened to the recitations, 
and heard their songs of jubilee. The slave-mart transformed 
to a school-house! Civilization and Christianity had indeed 
begun their beneficent work. 



436 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Dec. 



CHAPTER XXYI. 

SHERMAN IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 

General Sherman received, soon after his arrival in Savan- 
nah, instructions from General Grant to hasten with his army 
to James River. Transports were sent down for the ship- 
ment of the troops. Grant desired to combine the two great 
armies, throw Sherman upon his own left flank, and sever 
Lee's communications with the South, and also prevent his 
escape. Through all the long months of summer, autumn, 
and winter, — from June to February, — Grant had put forth 
his energies to accomplish this object, but had not been able 
to cut the Danville road, Lee's chief line of supply or retreat. 
The arrival of Sherman upon the sea-coast made the plan 
feasible. 

But that officer thoiight it better to march northward, driv- 
ing the enemy before him, and finish up the entire Rebel forces 
on the Atlantic coast ; besides. South Carolina deserved a 
retribution as severe as that which had been, meted out to 
Georgia. He also believed that he could thus join Grant 
quite as soon as by the more circuitous route by water. Grant 
assented to the proposition, and having full confidence in the 
ability of his lieutenant, left him to co-operate in the manner 
he thought most advisable. 

The Rebels expected that Sherman would move upon Charles- 
ton, but such was not his intention. He determined to make 
a movement which would compel its evacuation, while at the 
same time he could drive the forces of the Rebels in the interior 
of the State northward, and by destroying all the railroads in 
his progress, and severing Lee from the agricultural regions 
of the South, so cripple his resources as to paralyze the Rebel 
army before Richmond, and bring the war to a speedy close. 

He wisliied to preserve his army entire, and accordingly a 
division of the Nineteenth Corps, which had fought under 



1864.] SHERMAN m SOUTH CAROLINA. 437 

Emory in the Southwest and under Grover in the Shenan- 
doah, having no enemy to pursue after the annihilation of 
Early, was sent down to garrison Savannah, Grover being 
made commandant of the post. 

General Howard, commanding the right wing, took trans- 
ports with the Seventeenth Corps, Blair's, for Beaufort, whence 
he pushed into the interior, striking the Charleston and Savan- 
nah Railroad at Pocatoligo, and establishing there a depot of 
supplies. The Fifteenth Corps, Logan's, followed, except 
Corse's division, which, being prevented by freshets from 
marching direct to Pocatoligo, moved with the left wing, com- 
manded by Williams, joining the Twentieth Corps, and cross- 
ing the Savannah marched to Hardeeville, on the Charleston 
Railroad, and opened communication with Howard. 

" Come with me," was the kind invitation of General Wil- 
liams ; " you will see high old times, I reckon. My soldiers 
are crazy to get into South Carolina." But believing that 
Sherman's movement would necessitate the' evacuation of 
Charleston, I preferred to enter that city at the hour of her 
deepest humiliation. 

Davis's corps, the Fourteenth, with Geary's division of the 
Twentieth, crossed at Sister's Ferry, fifty miles above Savan- 
nah. This detour was necessary on account of the flooding 
of the country by freshets. The gunboat Pontiac was sent 
up to cover the crossing. When Slocum reached the river 
at Sister's Ferry he found it three miles in width, and too 
dee^ to ford, and was obliged to wait till the Tth of Febru- 
ary before he could cross. This movement deceived Hardee 
and Beauregard. The presence of Howard at Pocatoligo looked 
like an advance upon Charleston, while Slocum being at Sis- 
ter's Ferry indicated an attack upon Augusta. The Rebel 
commanders therefore undertook to hold a line a hundred 
miles in length. D. H. Hill was hurried to Augusta, Hardee 
took position at Branchville, while Beauregard remained at 
Charleston. This scattering of the Rebel forces made Sher- 
man's task comparatively easy, as their combined army would 
hardly have been a match for Sherman in a pitched battle on 
a fair field. His troops had ent're confidence in themselves 
and in their commander. Having fought their way from Chat- 



438 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

tauooga to Atlanta, having marched to the sea and taken Fort 
McAllister and Savannah, they believed there was no obstacle 
which they could not overcome in marching or fighting. 

Wilmington had been captured, and Sherman proposed to 
receive his next supplies from the coast. 

" I shall reach Goldsboro' about the 15th of March," said 
Sherman to his chief quartermasters, who at once made prep- 
arations to forward supplies from Morehead City in North 
Carolina. 

Sherman held a conference with Admiral Dahlgren on the 
22d of January, and with General Foster, commanding the 
Department of the South. All the troops in that quarter were 
to be employed in a movement against Charleston. General 
Foster being in feeble health, Major-General Gillmore, who had 
charge of the department during the summer, and who had 
conducted the engineering operations against Wagner and 
Sumter, again took command. 

The march of the right wing, under Howard, commenced on 
the 1st of February. Howard found obstructions on all the 
roads. The negroes from the plantations had been impressed 
into the Rebel service to burn bridges, fell trees, and open 
sluice-ways ; but his Pioneer Corps was so thoroughly organ- 
ized that such obstacles did not greatly impede his progress. 

The Salkehatchie River runs southeast, and reaches the 
Atlantic midway between Charleston and Savannah. * Howard 
moved up its southern bank, northwest, till he reached River's 
bridge, thirty-five miles above Pocatoligo. It was a weary 
march, through swamps, mud, and pine-barrens. River's bridge 
and Beaufort bridge were held by the Rebels, who were strongly 
posted. Blair, with the Seventeenth Corps, was ordered to 
carry the first, and Logan, with the Fifteenth, the latter. Blair 
detailed Mower's and Corse's divisions for the work. The troops 
saw before them a swamp three miles wide, overflowed, with 
soft mire beneath, filled with gnarled roots of gigantic trees. 
It was mid-winter. The air was keen. They knew not the 
depth of the water. The forest was gloomy. Above them 
waved the long gray tresses of moss. There was nothing 
of pomp and circumstance to inspire them. It was an un- 
dertaking full of hazard. They must shiver an hour in the 



1864.] SHERMAN IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 439 

water, breast deep, before they could reach the enemy. But 
they hesitated not an instant when the order was given to move. 
They stepped into the water jocosely, as if upon a holiday ex- 
cursion. 

A Rebel brigade guarded the farther shore ; flanking it, and 
reaching the firm land below the bridge, the troops rushed reck- 
lessly forward, and quickly drove the enemy from his strong 
position, losing but seventeen killed and seventy wounded. 

Thus by one dash the Rebel line of the Salkehatchie was 
broken, and Hardee retired behind the Edisto to Branchville. 
The railroad from Charleston to Augusta was reached the next 
day, and D. H. Hill at Augusta, with one third of the Rebel 
force, was severed from Hardee and Beauregard. For three 
days Howard's men were engaged in destroying the railroad 
west of the Edisto, — waiting also for the left wing, which had 
been detained by freshets. 

Kilpatrick, meanwhile, had pushed well up towards Augusta, 
driving Wheeler, burning and destroying property, and threat- 
ening Hill. The Rebels everywhere were in a state of conster- 
nation. They could not divine Sherman's intentions. The 
people of Charleston, who for four years had heard the thunder 
of cannon day and night down the harbor, and had come to the 
conclusion that it was impossible the city could ever be taken, 
now thought Sherman was intending to knock for admission at 
the back door. The people of Augusta saw that their fair town 
was threatened. It had been an important place to the Confed- 
erates through the war, contributing largely to help on the Re- 
bellion by its manufacturing industry. Citizens fled from 
Charleston to Cheraw, Columbia, Winsboro', and other towns 
up the Santee and Catawba, little thinking that they were 
jumping from the " frying-pan into the fire." 

Branchville is sixty-two miles northwest of Charleston, on 
the north bank of the Edisto. Hardee expected to see Sher- 
man at that place, and made elaborate preparations to defend 
it, as it lay in the path to Charleston. But Sherman, instead 
of turning southeast, kept his eye on the north star, and moved 
on Orangeburg, thirteen miles north of Branchville, where also 
the Rebels were prepared to make a stand ; but the Seventeenth 
Corps made one dash, and the enemy fled from a long breast- 



440 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

work of cotton-bales. This was on the 12th of February. 
Meanwhile General Hatch, with a portion of Gillmore's troops, 
was threatening Charleston along the coast. 

A division under General Potter, accompanied by a large 
number of gunboatg, went to Bull's Bay, north of Charleston, 
as if to approach the city from that quarter. The monitors 
were inside the bar. There were Union troops on Morris's Isl- 
and, ready to move, while the batteries kept up their fire, send- 
ing shells into the city. Thus from every point except on the 
northern side Charleston was threatened. 

It was not till Howard was well up towards Columbia that 
Hardee saw he had been completely flanked, jyiid tliat Sherman 
had no intention of going to Charleston ./| ^he only force in 
front of Slierman was Wheeler's and Wadi Hampton's cavalry, 
with straggling bands of infantry. HanYpton's home was Co- 
lumbia. He was rich, and had a palatial residence. He was 
an aristocrat, in principle and action. He was bitter in his ha- 
tred of the Union and the men of the North. He had fought 
upon nearly all the battle-fields of Virginia, and doubtless, in 
common with most of the people of his State, had not thought 
it possible the war should reach his own door. But Slierman 
was there, and being powerless to defend the capital of the 
State, he was reckless to destroy. 

Columbia had been a depot of supplies through tliQ war. In 
view of its occupation, Sherman gave written orders to How- 
ard to spare all dwellings, colleges, schools, churches, and 
private property, but to destroy the arsenals and machinery for 
the manufacture of war material. 

Howard threw a bridge across the river three miles above 
the city, and Stone's brigade of Wood's division of the Fif- 
teenth Corps was sent across. The Mayor came out in his 
carriage, and made a formal surrender to Colonel Stone, who 
marched up the streets, where huge piles of cotton were burn- 
ing. Hampton, in anticipation of the giving up of the city, 
had caused the cotton to be gathered, public as well as 
private, that it might be burned. There were tliousands of 
bales. Negroes were employed to cut the ropes that bound 
them, and apply the torch. As Stone marched in the last of 
Hampton's troops moved out. The wind was high, and flakes /> 



^ 



\1 \/4vM/ l)'-^ i^rJiim , -si '0, b- 



1864.] SHERMAN IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 441 

of burning cotton were blown about the streets, setting fire to 
the buildings. The soldiers used their utmost exertions to 
extinguish the flames, working under the direction of their 
officers. The whole of Wood's division was sent in for the 
purpose, but very little could be done towards saving the city. 
The fire raged through the day and night. Hundreds of fam- 
ilies were burned out, and reduced from opulence, or at least 
competency, to penury. It was a terrible scene of suffering and 
woe, — men, women, and children fleeing from the flames, 
surrounded by a hostile army, composed of men whom they 
had called vandals, ruffians, the slime of the North, the pests 
of society, and whom they had looked upon with haughty con- 
tempt, as belonging to an inferior race. Indescribable their 
anguish ; and yet no violence was committed, no insulting 
language or action given by those soldiers. Sherman, Howard, 
Logan, Hazen, Woods, — nearly all of Sherman's officers, — did 
what they could to stay the flames and alleviate the distress. 
They experienced no pleasure in beholding the agony of the 
people of Columbia. 

General Sherman thus vindicates himself in his official re- 
port, and charges the atrocity upon Wade Hampton : — 

" I disclaim on the part of my army any agency in this fire, but, on 
the contrary, claim that we saved what of Columbia remains uncon- 
sumed. And without hesitation I charge General Wade Hampton 
with having burned his own city of Columbia, — not with a malicious 
intent, or as the manifestation of a silly ' Roman stoicism,' but from 
folly and want of sense, in filling it with lint, cotton, and tinder. Our 
officers and men on duty worked well to extinguish the flames ; but 
others not on duty, including the officers who had long been imprisoned 
there, rescued by us, may have assisted in spreading the fire after it 
had once begun, and may have indulged in unconcealed joy to see the 
ruin of the capital of South Carolina." * 

Thus Columbia, the beautiful capital of a once haughty 
State, became a blackened waste. The convention which passed 
the ordinance of Secession, when called together on the 17th 
of December, 1860, met in Columbia, but after organizing ad- 
journed to Charleston, as the city was infected with small- 

* Sherman's Report. 



442 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTmG. [DeC. 

pox. . But it was the more poisonous virus of Secession which 
finally laid their proud city low. 

The people of South Carolina are bitter in their hatred of 
General Sherman. They charge all the devastation commit- 
ted during his march from Atlanta to Goldsboro' upon him. 
In their estimation he is " a fiend," and his conduct not merely 
" inhuman," but " devilish." Yet he only adopted the policy 
which the Rebel leaders urged upon their adherents, and 
which was vehemently advocated by the Southern press. 
Rebel, not loyal torches, fired Charleston, Orangeburg, and 
Columbia. 

It is claimed that Sherman did not regard private property, 
but destroyed it indiscriminately with that belonging to the 
Confederate government. Was there any respect shown by the 
Rebel authorities ? Cotton, resin, turpentine, stores owned by 
private individuals, were remorselessly given to the flames by 
the Rebels themselves, and their acts were applauded by the 
people of the South as evincing heroic self-sacrifice. 

Great stress is laid upon the suffering occasioned by the pil- 
laging and burning by Sherman's troops ; but in Pennsylvania 
yet remain the ruins of Chambersburg as evidence of the ten- 
der mercy of the Rebels, who not only destroyed public prop- 
erty, but gave dwelling-houses and stores to the torch. 

What act so malignant, bloody, ghastly, and fiendish as the 
sacking, burning, and massacre at Lawrence ! What deed so 
damning since the barbarities of Scio or Wyoming ! What woe 
so deep! — men, children, murdered, butchered, scalped, the 
bodies of the dead tossed into the flames ! No relenting on 
the part of the Rebels, but savage, infuriate joy at the sight of 
the warm heart's blood of their victims ! Woman's prayers 
and tears availed not to stay their murderous hands or move 
their brutal hearts. 

The responsibility cannot be evaded by saying that Quantrel 
was only a guerilla. If not holding a commission from the 
Rebel government, he was fighting for the Confederacy, and 
was ranked with Morgan and Mosby. He was an ally of Jeff 
Davis and General Lee. When were his acts disavowed by the 
Rebel government ? What restraint was ever laid upon him ? 
He passed from the scene of massacre, lighted by the flames of 



1864.] SHERMAN IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 44o 

the burning town, safely into the Rebel lines, where instead of 
outlawry he found protection and favor. On what page of Con- 
federate history shall we read the remonstrance of Lee, Davis, 
Stephens, Toombs, or Breckenridge ? Where is the protest of 
the " chivalrous" gentlemen of the South? What action was 
taken by the Rebel Congress ? 

Vain the search for disavowal of or protest against the act. 
The historian of another generation will be able to pass right 
judgment upon all that has transpired during these dark years 
of anarchy and i-evolution, sorrow, tears, and anguish. The 
verdict of j^osterity will be just, and will endure through the 
ages. 



444 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING [DeC. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

SOUTH CAROLINA BEFORE THE WAR. 

To fully comprehend the fitting punishment of South Caro- 
lina we must keep in remembrance her position before the 
war. We must behold her as she appeared in 1860, — the 
leader and chief conspirator against the Republic. 

She had always taken a prominent part in the political 
affairs of the nation. Although a State, she was hardly a re- 
publican commonwealth, and very far from being a democracy. 
The State was ruled by a clique, composed of wealthy men, of 
ancient name, who secured privileges and prerogatives for 
themselves at the expense of the people, who had but little 
voice in electing their lawgivers. 

The basis of representation in the Legislature was exceed- 
ingly complex. In the House of Representatives it was a mix- 
ture of property, population, white inhabitants, taxation, and- 
slaves. In the Senate it consisted of geographical extent, white 
and slave population, taxation, and property. The Senate was 
constituted after the " Parish system," which gave the whole 
control of political affairs in the State into the hands of a few 
wealthy men from the sea-coast. 

There are two distinct classes of people in South Carolina, 
— the lowlanders and the uplanders. The settlers of the low- 
lands were emigrants from England and France, gentlemen 
with aristocratic ideas. The settlers of the uplands, in the 
western counties, were pioneers from Virginia and North Caro- 
lina, — small farmers, cultivating their owii lands. During the 
Revolutionary war the uplanders were Whigs, the lowlanders 
Tories. The lowlanders had wealth, the uplanders were poor. 
When the Constitution was formed, organizing a State govern- 
ment, the lowlanders took care of their own interests. The 
lowlands in Colonial times were divided into parishes, and 
with the forming of the Constitution each parish was to have a 



1864.] SOUTH CAROLINA BEFORE THE WAR. 445 

Senator. The uplands, not being parishes, were districts 
of much larger territorial area, hence political power fell into 
the hands of a few individuals along the coast. As white pop- 
ulation increased in the districts, and decreased or remained 
stationary in the parishes, the up-countrj men tried to emanci- 
pate themselves from political serfdom, but there was no rem- 
edy except by an amendment to the Constitution, through a 
Convention called by the Legislature ; and as the lowlanders 
had control of that body, there was no redress. The State, 
therefore, became an engine of political power, managed and 
worked by a few men from Charleston, Beaufort, St. Helena, 
Edisto, Colleton, and other parishes along the sea-coast. 

Nature gave South Carolina sunny skies and a genial clime. 
The sea contributed an atmosphere which gained for Edisto 
and St. Helena islands the monopoly in the world's markets for 
cotton of finest fibre. Wealth increased with the gathering 
in of each new crop, and with wealth came additional power. 
Superiority of political privilege made the few impatient of 
restraint and ambitious not only to control State, but national 
affairs. South Carolina attempted defiance of national law in 
1832, and was defeated. 

The parishes governed the State solely in the interests of 
slavery. It gave them power, to perpetuate which they made 
slavery aggressive. Here is exposed the root from which Se- 
cession sprung. Free lal3or in the North was a plant of 
vigorous growth. Slavery was slow. It left worn-out lands in 
its track. Hard work, brutality, and sin sent its victims to an 
early grave. Freedom was gaining ground. Slavery must be 
carried into the Territories and secure a foothold in advance of 
free labor. So the struggle began, and through pride, passion, 
and malignant hatred of the North Secession was at last ac- 
complished. . 

Upon the assembling of the Legislature for the choice of 
Presidential electors, the President of the Senate, W. D. Por- 
ter, of Charleston, said to his fellow-legislators : — 

" All that is dear and precious to this people, — life, fortune, name, 
and history, — all is committed to our keeping for weal or for woe, for 
honor or for shame. Let us do our part, so that those who come after 
us shall acknowledge that we were not unworthy of the great trusts 



446 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

devolved upon us, and not unequal to the great exigencies by which 

we were tried No human power can withstand or break down a 

united people, standing upon their own soil and defending their own 
firesides." * 

They made their election. They thought it to be weal, but 
under God's providence it proved to be woe. 
A Senator said : — 

"We have two ways before us, — in one, whether we will or not, we 
must tread ; for, in the event of this issue, there would be no repose. 
In both lie dangers, difficulties, and troubles, which no human foresight 
can foreshadow or perceive ; but they are not equal in magnitude. One 
is beset with humiliation, dishonor, emeutes, rebellion, — with submis- 
sion in the beginning to all, and at all times, and confiscation and 
slavery in the end. The other, it is true, has its difficulties and trials, 
but no disgrace. Hope, duty, and honor shine along the path. Hope 
beacons you to the end For himself he would unfurl the Pal- 
metto flag, fling it to the breeze, and with the spirit of a brave man 
determine to live and die as became our glorious ancestors, and ring the 
clarion notes of defiance in the face of an insolent foe." * 

When assembled in Hibernia Hall, in Charleston, since called 
Secession Hall, the delegates gave free utterance to their senti- 
ments. 

Said Mr. Parker : — 

" It is no spasmodic effort that has come suddenly upon us ; 
it has been gradually culminating for a long period of thirty 
years. At last it has come to that point where one may say 
the matter is entirely right." 

" I have been engaged in this movement ever since I entered 
political life," said Lawrence M. Keitt. 

" It is not anything produced by Mr. Lincoln's election or by 
the non-execution of the Fugitive Slave Law. It has been a 
matter which has been gathering head for thirty years," said 
R. Barnwell Rhett. 

It was the fire of 1832 flaming anew. No rights had been 
invaded. That Secession was inaugurated without cause must 
ever be the verdict of history. And history will forever hold 
John C. Calhoun, R. Bai&iwell Rhett, Right Rev. Bishop Elliott, 



* Proceedings of South Caablina Legislature, 
t Speech of Senator Chestnut. 



1864.] SOUTH CAROLINA BEFORE THE WAR. 447 

Rev. Dr. Thornwell, and other statesmen, editors, ministers, — 
numbers of the slaveholding forum, bar, and pulpit, — respon- 
sible for all the suffering, bloodshed, and desolation which have 
come to the country. 

Proud in spirit was South Carolina just then. The cotton 
crop was luxuriant. Planters were plethoric with money. 
The mternal slave-trade established its marts of human flesh 
all through the South. Virginia became slave-breeding, and 
South Carolina slave-consuming. In former years slavery was 
deemed an evil, a curse ; but the call for cotton, its rise in mar- 
ket value, with increased profit of culture and a consequent 
demand for labor, transformed it into a blessing, to be perpet- 
uated for the best good of the human race. 

It was found to be in perfect accordance with the teachings 
of the Bible. The system itself was right ; the abuse of the 
good was only evil. Rev. Dr. Thornwell, Professor of The- 
ology in the Presbyterian Seminary at Columbia, came boldly 
forward to advocate slavery as a Divine institution, ordained 
of God for the welfare of the human race. He preached 
thus : — 

" Our slaves are our solemn trust, and while we Lave a right to 
use and direct their labors, we are bound to feed, clothe, and protect 
them, to give them the comforts of this life, and to introduce them 
to the hope of a blessed immortality. They are moral beings, and 
it will be found that in the culture of their moral nature we reap the 
largest reward from their service. The relation itself is moral, and 
in the tender affections and endearing sympathies it evokes it gives 
scope for the most attractive graces of human character. Strange as 
it may sound to those who are not familiar with the system, slavery is 
a school of virtue, and no class of men have furnished sublimer instances 
of heroic devotion than slaves in their loyalty and love to their masters. 
"VVe have seen them rejoice at the cradle of the infant, and weep at the 
bier of the dead ; and there are few among us who have not drawn their 
nourishment from their generous breasts." * 

Such was the teaching from those who called themselves 
appointed of God to preach the Gospel of purity and peace. 
Church and State, morals and religion, everything that could 
give strength and respectibility to their cause, were brought in 

* Southern Presbyterian Review, January, 1861. 



448 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Dec. 

to aid the work of the conspirators. So thorough were the 
teachings, that South Carolina became almost a unit on the 
question of Secession. 

The people of the South charge the Union array with dese- 
crating their church edifices. Is it a wonder that soldiers, 
reasoning from cause to effect, concluded that the religion 
which was foremost in precipitating a Rebellion which sus- 
tained such an inhuman system was not worth serious consid- 
eration ? Is it a wonder that, after experiencing the horrors 
of Rebel prisons, they lost reverence for a religion which could 
uphold a government guilty of such fiendish cruelties ? 

Slavery was the corner-stone and foundation of the Confed- 
eracy. Never was the trade in slaves between States so thriv- 
ing as during the winter of 1860. And the leaders of the 
Rebellion were looking forward to the time when the commerce 
with Africa would be reopened. Mr. Lamar of Savannah, who 
during the Rebellion was agent of the Confederacy in London 
for the purchase of army supplies, imported in the bark Wan- 
derer a cargo of native Africans, some of whom were sold in 
Charleston. There was a large party in the Confederate Con- 
gress which advocated the resumption of the foreign trade, the 
abolition of which in 1808 was set down as one of the griev- 
ances of the South. 

It is the province of history to make a record of the bad as 
well as the good, shameful and humiliating though it may be. 
Sin and wickedness are horrible facts. To view them as such, 
to contemplate them in contrast with holiness and righteous- 
ness, and draw useful lessons from such contemplation, is far 
better than to say that they have no place in history. Poster- 
ity will wonder that a Church which called itself Christian 
ever gave its support and advocacy to an institution which 
daily brought its victims, like cattle, to the auction-block, which 
made no distinction of age, which was remorseless as death, and 
which from the cradle to the grave held its victim as with a 
tiger's gripe. 

On the opposite page is presented a sample of an auctioneer's 
handbill, which I found upon the floor of the slave-mart, with 
the prices paid by the buyers marked in pencil against the 
names of the " chattels," and now appearing in parentheses. 



1864.] SOUTH CAKOLINA BEFORE THE WAR. 449 

Administrator's Sale, by Order of the Ordinary. 

A PRIME AND ORDERLY GANG OF 

68 Long Cotton Field Negroes, 

Belonging to the Estate of the late Christopher J. Whaley. 

WILBUR & SON 

Will sell at PUBLIC AUCTION in Charleston, 

At the Mart in Chalmers Street, 

On. Tlaiarsdajr, ITeb. Sd, I860, 
COMMENCING AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK, 

THE FOLLOWING GANG OF LONG COTTON NEGROES, 

Who are said to be remarkably prime, and will be Bold as per Catalogue. 



NAMES. 




AGES. 


NAMES. 






AGES. 


Jimmy, 


driver. 


30 


Carter, 






36 


Flora, seamstress, 


24 


Taffy, 






13 


James, 




■ 5 


Rachel, ($ 


720 


,) 


8 


Charles, ($125,) 




1 


Jannett, 






18 


August, 




52 


Phebe, ($ 860,1 




40 


Mathias, ($ 1,220,) 




18 


Judy, 






8 


Sandy, 




16 


Major, 






40 


John, 




13 


Lavinia, 






30 


Tom, 




70 


Billy, (S 550,) 




10 


Jack, 




38 


Tamor, 






6 


James, 




6 


Jimmy, 






5.2 


Leah, 




5 


Kate, 






46 


Flora, 




2 


Susan, 






25 


Andrew, 




42 


Thomas, ($ 


380,) 


6 


Binah, 




40 


Kate, 






1 


PhilUs, 




20 


Edward, 




coachman, 


49 


Mary, 




15 


Amey, 






22 


Lymus, 




10 


Teneh, 




washer, 


30 


Abram, ($275,) 




2 


Josephine, 






9 


Binah, 


2 


mos. 


Sam, 






11 


Andrew, 




29 


Isaac, 






5 


Hagar, 




25 


WiUiam, 






1 


Dayman, 




4 


Amey, 






27 


Cuffy, 




21 


Louisa, ($ 750, 


) 


8 


Hagar, ($1,320,) 




20 


Joe, 






3 


Margaret, 




85 


Sam, 




ruptured. 


65 


Lucy, 


cripple, 


60 


Andrew, 




dropsical, 


61 


John, 




22 


Daniel, 






70 


Ellick, ($1,160,) 




18 


Lymus, 






30 


Libby, 




19 


Lucy, 




nurse. 


58 



TERMS. 

One-third Cash; balance in one and two years, secured by bond, and mortgage of the 
negroes, with approved personal securBty. Purchasers to pay us for papers. 
29 



450 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

The Charleston Mercury was the organ of the Secessionists 
from the start. It not only advocated Recession as a political 
principle, but filled its columns with articles holding up to ridi- 
cule and contempt the people of the North. The spirit of hate 
seemed to seize the whole community, in which women even 
exceeded their husbands. Thus wrote a Southern lady : — 

" I would rather die than hold a position of inferiority and 
vassalage to the North, and the dominant feeling of my heart 
is to leave a State where meh are too cowardly to protect their 
women and too mercenary to risk their money." * 

" The question has thrust itself into our domestic fireside, 
and you find all classes, — men, women, ajid children, — ask- 
ing what they must do to be saved," said W. F. Cullock, Col- 
lector of Charleston, in a speech at the Pulaski House, Savan- 
nah, on the opening of the Charleston and Savannah Railroad. 

" Fight ! Secede ! " was the response from the drunken 
crowd. 

The South Carolina Muse tuned her lyre and sang, — 

" We '11 unfurl the Lone- Star banner, 
And we '11 keep it waving high ; 
For Secession we are pledged, 
For Secession we will die." 

The city of Charleston was foremost for Secession. When 
the news was received that Mr. Lincoln was elected President, 
a red flag, with the palmetto-tree and a lone star wrought upon 
it, was raised. Says the Mercury : " A shout and twice three 
cheers greeted its appearance. The Association of 1860 assem- 
bled. The feeling was for prompt action." 

The Legislature was in session at Columbia. On the lltli 
of the month a bill was passed calling a State convention. 

" Gentlemen, hats off! " said the Mercury. " Then hip-hip- 
liip-hurrah ! — and hip-hip-hip-hurrah — hurrah — hurrah — 
hurrah — for the homes welove!"f 

Then more soberly the editor added : — 

" The news of the passage of the convention resolutions by an 
almost unanimous vote, at Columbia, was received in this city on Sat- 

* Charleston Mercury, November 3, 1860. 
t Mercury, November 12, 1860. 



1864.] SOUTH CAROLINA BEFORE THE WAR. 451 

urday night with demonstrations which have, perhaps, never been 
equalled in the political history of the country. Our whole commu- 
nity seemed to breathe freer and deeper, and upon every brow sat 
confidence and hope. It was as though the glorious sun had suddenly 
dispersed cloud and mist and vapor, and sent its illuminating rays to 
every heart and home. Men looked each other in the face as men 
should do who feel that under God their destinies are in their own 
hands." 

Thus a " daughter of South Carolina " inflamed her sisters : — 

" Listen, daughters of South Carolina, to the voice of a faithful sister. 

Should our State back out now she would be disgraced forever 

Shrink now, and we are crushed forever. Then there will be no end 
of the trouble you fear. Abolition emissaries will be at work all over 
the South, inciting the negroes in every direction. Trials must come, 
but let them come in the right way, and all will be well. Secede, put 
ourselves in a state of defence ; be ready for any emergency. Should 
the government coerce, our sister States will come to the rescue. Let 

it be so. Better perish beneath the shock than to live degraded 

O women of South Carolina ! Mothers, sisters, wives ! do not wear 
the white feather now, unless, like that gallant king of old, it waves on 
our men to the war." * 

Said another : — 

" Let us women of Carolina prove that the same noble spirit which 
visited the mothers and maidens of '76 is alive, and glowing in the 
spirits of their descendants. I am myself a widowed mother, but I 
have said to my three sons, that if any one of them shall be craven 
enough to desert the State now, to temporize in her councils, or be 
backward if her honor calls them to the field, let him never look upon 
my face again." f 

"What had transpired to produce this white heat of passion ? 
Simply that a party was coming into power opposed to the ex- 
tension of slavery over free territory. True this party had 
also disavowed any intention of interference with slavery in 
the States ; but restriction was loss of power, — paralysis and 
death "at last. The grievance of South Carolina arose wholly 
from slavery. She claimed the right to traffic in human be- 
ings. She believed it was a natural right, authorized by the 

* Mercury, November 9, 1860. 

t Charleston Mercury, November 17, 1860. 



452 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [DeC. 

Creator of the universe, lia%ing the sanction and solemnity of 
the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and Christ himself. It was a 
natural, moral, and scriptural right for a master to rob his 
brother in the Lord of his earnings during the week, commune 
with him on Sunday, whip him on Monday, and sell him on 
Tuesday. The institution being missionary in its nature, and 
designed to carry the Gospel to Africa, he had a right to sepa- 
rate husbands and wives, parents and children, break the 
marriage relation, and establish new alliances at will. No 
doubt they were sincere in their belief that the system was 
not only good in itself, but that it was a beneficent arrange- 
ment for the well-being of the human race. Certainly it was 
beneficial to the master ; why should -it not be to the slave ? 
Men can be as sincerely zealous for Wrong as for Right. 
Eighteen hundred years ago a man zealous for the truth filled 
the prisons of Syria with Christians, and thought he was doing 
righteously in the sight of God ; and human nature is the same 
now as then. Men and women who advocated the righteousness 
of slavery were scrupulous to a penny in their dealings with one 
another, and with colored people who were free, — but the loss 
of freedom gave the right to commit robbery ! Strange, also, 
the confusion and delusion of moral ideas. Society prided 
itself on its virtue. Men and women of Caucasian blood de- 
parting from morality found the door of society shut against 
them ; but slavery being patriarchal it was not a crime, not 
even an ofience against morality, for a planter to choose a 
Hagar from his slaves. Society placed no bar in his way, the 
Church no ban upon his action. Hagar could be taken into 
the master's household, appear in silks and satins, with Ish- 
mael for the pet of the family, or both could be knocked off 
to the highest bidder in the mart, separated and sent one to 
the rice-swamps of Georgia and Ae other to the cane-brakes 
of Louisiana, Hagar weeping and mourning for her child, and 
the planter, with the price of blood in his pocket, be received 
in any parlor in Charleston, or made Governor of the State ! 
There were patriarchs in the convention which carried South 
Carolina out of the Union, who were urged on to treason by 
the women of the South. Ishmael would not rise in insurrec- 
tion, even if his brother Isaac and father Abraham went to 
war. 



1864.] SOUTH . CAROLINA BEFORE THE WAR. 453 

Said another " daughter of South Carolina " : — 

" Arming the State will keep the negroes in check. They are arrant 
cowards, those dear dark friends of ours. [?] Some of you can remem- 
ber how in '22 they would shrink away at the gleam of their master's 
sword ' as he armed for the nightly patrol, and the creaking of the 
horseman's saddles as they paraded the streets sent them hiding in 
every hole and corner." * 

Isaac was eager for the fray ; he burned to fight the Yankees. 
Hence the consummation of the treason. 

* Chai-leston Mercw-y, November 9, 1 860. 



454 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

SUMTER. 

Fort Sumter was evacuated by the Rebels and occupied by 
the Union troops on the 18th of February, 1865 ; but before 
entering upon the events of that ever-memorable morning it 
will give breadth and color to the picture to glance at the 
scenes witnessed there at the beginning and during the Re- 
bellion. 

On the 17th of December, 1860, Governor Pickens sent a 
strictly confidential letter to President Buchanan. 

" To spare the effusion of blood," said he, "which no human power 
may be able to prevent, I earnestly beg your immediate consideration 
of all the points I call your attention to I would most respect- 
fully, and from a sincere devotion to the public peace, request that you 
will allow me to send a small force, not exceeding twenty-five men and 
an officer, to take possession of Fort Sumter immediately, in order to 
give a feeling of safety to the community. There are no United States 
troops in that fort whatever, or perhaps only four or five at present, 
besides some additional workmen or laborers lately employed to put 

the guns in order If Fort Sumter could be given to me as 

Governor, I think the public mind would be quieted, under a feeling of 
safety." * 

The State seceded on the 20th. Major Anderson with a 
handful of men was at Fort Moultrie. " The garrison will 
not be strengthened. The people will obey the call for war, 
and take the forts," said the Charleston Mercury of the 22d. 

Five days later, on the 27th, the people of Charleston looked 
seaward and saw Moultrie in flames, and tl^e stars and stripes 
waving over Sumter. They were indignant. ^-They consid- 
ered it a breach of faith. i; ...-''-'■•- '^ 

" Anderson has opened civil war," said the Courier.^ 

* Courier, December 29, 1860. 



1865.] SUMTER. 455 

" His act must be repudiated by the government," said the 
Mercury* 

" Unless you order Anderson back, I cannot, under my con- 
victions of patriotism and honor, continue to hold office," said 
the Secretary of War, John B. Floyd, of Virginia, f 

Charleston was intensely excited. 

" Assemble the Light Infantry and the Meagher Guards at 
the Citadel. Arm them and take possession of Castle Pinck- 
ney. Proceed immediately to Fort Moultrie ; send troops to 
Morris Island," were the orders of Governor Pickens to Colonel 
Pettigrew. 

" Onr line of operations embraces four points : Fort Moultrie, 
Castle Pinckney, Fort Johnson, and Morris Island. You are 
indebted to the forbearance of the enemy for the liberty of 
transporting the reinforcements and supplies, which you ordered 
at midnight, and which are to be sent to your battery now ii 
course of erection on Morris Island. A single gun from Fort, 
Sumter would sink your transports and destroy your troops and 
supplies," reported General Simmons to the Governor on the 
1st of January. 

It was the language of war. The United States was an 
enemy. The guns of Moultrie were already trained on Sumter. 
The battery on Morris Island was for the destruction of that 
fort. South Carolina had begun the war in intention and in 
fact. The erection of the battery was war. 

On the 9th of January the same battery opened fire on the 
Star of the West, steaming into the harbor, bearing the United 
States flag. 

" You are asked to surrender the fort to the constituted 
authorities of South Carolina," was the demand of Governor 
Pickens on the 11th. 

" I cannot comply with your request," was the response from 
Anderson. 

Then came the negotiations between Charleston and Wash- 
ington, — the demands upon Buchanan, the shuffling and 
indecision of the two-faced, unprincipled politician, who had 
written himself down as an " Old Public Functionary." Major 

* Mercury, December 29, 1860. t Floyd's Letter to Buchanan. 



456 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

Anderson was watched day and night, cut off from intercourse 
with the shore, deprived of fresh provisions, treated as an 
enemy, and compelled to see the preparations on Morris Island 
and on the floating battery for the reduction of the fort. Thus 
February and March passed away. His provisions were nearly 
gone. Troops were pouring into Charleston from all parts of 
the State and from other States. Savannah sent a company 
early in December. They were under the command of General 
Beauregard, — a small, brown, thin, wiry man, forty years old, 
born upon the banks of the Mississippi, in Louisiana, yet more 
of a Frenchman than an American. 

Mr. Lincoln could not consent that Major Anderson should 
starve. The people of the North would not permit it. Its 
sentiment was for sustaining an officer who had been true to 
his oath, amid a general breaking down of loyalty. 

Sunday dawned, the 7th of April, and Major Anderson, look- 
ing out from his prison, saw the Rebels hard at work to com- 
plete the batteries on Morris Island. 

" An attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumter with pro- 
visions only," was the official notice from President Lincoln to 
Pickens on the 8th. 

" Demand the surrender of the fort ; if refused, reduce it," 
was the order from Montgomery. 

" Surrender," was the message of Beauregard to Anderson. 
" I cannot ; but I shall soon be starved out unless relieved," 
was the courteous reply. 

" When will you evacuate ? " 

" At noon on the 15th, if I receive no supplies," wrote 
Anderson on the lltli. 

" I sliall open fire in one hour," was the last message of 
Beauregard, at twenty minutes past three on the morning of 
the 12th. 

Then came the roar of the first gun, fired by old Mr. Ruffin, 
gray-haired, nearly fourscore. Not the young bloods of the 
South alone, but men and women of all ages and classes were 
crazy for the contest. 

Shells burst in the fort, plunging through the wooden bar- 
racks and officers' quarters. Solid shot from Morris Island 
were hurled point-blank against the walls. All day the batter- 
ies flamed, and Sumter leisurely replied. 



1865.] SUMTER. 457 

"When darkness came on Sumter closed its port-holes and 
rested, but the Rebels, like spirits of evil, were at work through 
the night. 

The second day dawned, and all the cannon were roaring 
again. The barracks were on fire, the smoke curling into 
the casemates, the hot stifling air reaching the gunners, who, 
wrapping themselves in wet cloths, and covering their faces, 
crept along the passages, rolling casks of powder into the sea. 
What delight on shore to see the fl.ames mount above the 
walls ! With what energy Moultrie, Pinckney, and Morris 
Island and the floating battery redoubled their fire. All but 
three of Anderson's cartridges were gone. The flagstafi" was 
shot away. " The flag is down ! " is the cry within the fort. 
Up into the storm, where the shot and shell are falling, walks 
Lieutenant Hall, planting the flag upon the parapet, where it 
waves till Wigfall appears at a port-hole. Then the parley, — 
the surrender, — and Charleston was excited as never before 
or since. Men and women on the house-tops, and gathered in 
church-steeples ; business at a stand still, champagne flowing 
like water, costliest wines quafied at the expense of merchants 
of New York ; bells ringing, guns firing, ladies waving their 
handkerchiefs, — the city all aglow with bonfires in the even- 
ing ; crowds surging through the streets, or drinking whiskey 
in the bar-rooms : Beauregard the Napoleon of the new era. 
Governor Pickens addressed the mob from the balcony of the 
Charleston Hotel : — 

" It is a glorious and exultant occasion. Fellow-citizens, I clearly 
saw that the day was coming when we would triumph beyond the 
power of man to put us down. Thank God the day has come, — 
thank God the war is open, and we will conquer or perish! We 
have defeated their twenty millions, and we have made the proud 
flag of the stars and stripes, that never was lowered before to any 
nation on this earth, — we have lowered it in humility before the glori- 
ous little State of South Carolina ! " * 

Intoxicated with wine and whiskey, delirous with success, 
insane with Secession, the jubilant crowd cheer and drink, 
and shout again, bidding defiance to the government, and 
cursing the Yankees. 

* Speech of Governor Pickens. 



458 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

Four years pass, and Sumter is repossessed by the troops 
of the Union. How cheering the sight to behold once more 
the crimson folds and fadeless stars of our country's flag wav- 
ing in the sunlight over the crumbled walls ! 

Early in the morning we entered the harbor, — General 
Gillmore and staff. General Webster, chief of General Sher- 
man's staff, with several gentlemen and ladies from Port 
Royal. The blockading fleet and the monitors were steaming 
in, their long watch through the sweltering days of summer 
and the stormy nights of winter at an end. They were feel- 
ing their way up the channel searching for torpedoes. 

The steamer Deer, built on the Clyde, a few hours from 
Nassau, with an assorted cargo, — a low, rakish, fast-running 
craft, with steam escaping from her pipes, — was lying under 
the guns of a monitor. She had worked her way in during 
the night. The crestfallen captain was chewing the cud of 
disappointment on the quarter-deck, looking gloomily seaward 
the while, and doubtless wisliing himself in the- harbor of 
Nassau. Two nights before the Syren had passed in. The 
wreck of a third blockade-runner was lying on the sands of 
Sullivan's Island, near Moultrie, which months before had 
been run ashore by the fleet. The tide was surging through 
the cabin windows. Barnacles had fastened upon the hull, 
and long tresses of green, dank seaweed hung trailing from 
the iron paddle-wheels. It was a satisfaction to know that the 
time was at hand when Englishmen at Nassau would have to 
shut up shop. 

We glided along the shore of Morris Island, white with 
tents. What heroic valor on those sands, — the assault upon 
Wagner, the slow, persistent excavation of the trenches, the 
unremitting vigilance and energy, the endurance which had 
forced the evacuation of Morris Island, — the turning of the 
guns of Wagner upon Sumter, the planting of the " Swamp- 
Angel " battery, — the first shell sent streaming into the oity, 
startling the inhabitants, and awaking the unpleasant con- 
viction that the Yankees were at their doors. So memory 
ran over the historic events, as we swept up the channel. 

The steamer could not approach near the landing, and we 
were taken to the fort in small boats. We reached the interior 
through a low, narrow passage. 



1865.] SUMTER. 459 

The fort bore little resemblance to its former appearance, 
externally or internally. None of the original face of the wall 
was to be seen, except on the side towards Charleston and 
a portion of that facing Moultrie. From the harbor and from 
Wagner it appeared only a tumulus, — the debris of an old ruin. 
All the casemates, arches, pillars, and parapets were torn up 
and utterly demolished. The great guns which two years be- 
fore kept the monitors at bay, which flamed and thundered 
awhile upon Wagner, were dismounted, broken, and partially 
buried beneath- the mountain of brick, dust, concrete, sand, and 
mortar. After DupontX attack, in April, 1863, a reinforce- 
ment of palmetto-logs was n^ade on the harbor side, and against 
half of the wall facing Moulme, and the lower casemates were 
filled with sand-bags ; but wl:^n General Gillmore obtained pos- 
session of Wagner, his fire began to crumble the parapet. The 
Rebels endeavored to maintain its original height by gabions 
filled with sand, but this compelled a widening of the base in- 
side by sand-bags, thousands of which were brought to the fort 
at night. Day after day, week after week, the pounding from 
Wagner was maintained so effectually that it was impossible to 
keep a gun iA position on the side of Sumter fronting it, and 
the only guns remaining mounted were five or six on the side 
towards Moultrie, in the middle tier of casemates. Five how- 
itzers were kept on the walls to repel an attack by small boats, 
the garrison keeping under cover, or seeking shelter whenever 
the lookout cried, " A shot ! " 

Cheveaux-de-frise of pointed sticks protected the fort from a 
scaling party. At the base outside was a barrier of interlaced 
wire, supported by iron posts. There was also a submerged 
network of wire and chains, kept in place by floating buoys. 

I had the curiosity to make an inspection of the wall nearest 
Moultrie, to see what had been the' effect of the fire of the iron- 
clads in Dupont's attack. With my glass at that time I could 
see that the wall was badly honeycombed ; a close inspection 
now proved that the fire was very damaging. There were seams 
in the masonry, and great gashes where the solid bolts crumbled 
the bricks to dust. It was evident that if the fire had been 
continued any considerable length of time the wall would have 
fallen. Its effect suggested the necessity of filling up the lower 
casemates. 



460 FOUR YEAKS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

An hour was passed in the fort, the baud playing national 
airs, and the party inspecting the ruins and gathering relics. 

Captain James of the Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth, aide to 
General Gillmore, was wounded in the assault on Wagner. 
He gazed at the ruins with a satisfaction not unmixed with mel- 
ancholy, for beneath the sands of Morris Island was lying his 
beloved commander. Colonel Shaw. 

The Rebels had refused to give up his body. " Let him lie 
buried beneath his niggers," was their answer to the request. 
And there he lies beside the brave men who followed him to 
death and glory, having won an immortal name no less as the 
commander of the first negro regiment sent to the war than 
by his gentle bearing as a man and bravery as a soldier. His 
acceptance of the command of the despised men who gladly 
enlisted when called to the field required at tho time a devo- 
tion to principle and a decision of character, to face the gibes 
and sneers flung at him by negro-haters in his rear, greater 
than the courage to meet the enemy at the front. But he 
nobly led the way, and silenced every carping tongue. 

For four long years the cannon of Sumter had hurled defi- 
ance at the rights of man ; but the contest now was ended. 
Eternal principles had prevailed against every effort of Rebel 
hate to crush them. The strong earthworks on Sullivan's 
and Johnson's islands, the batteries in the harbor. Castle 
Pinckney and Fort Ripley, and those in the city erected by 
slaves, were useless forever, except as monuments of folly and 
wickedness. As I stood there upon the ruins of Sumter, look- 
ing down into the crater, the past like a panorama was unrolled, 
exhibiting the mighty events which will forever make it memo- 
rable. The silent landing of Major Anderson at the postern 
gate, the midnight prayer and solemn consecration of the little 
band to defend the flag till the last, the long weeks of prepara- 
ation by the Rebels, the Star of the West turning her bow sea- 
ward, the 12th of April, the barracks on fire, the supplies ex- 
hausted, the hopelessness of success, the surrender, and all that 
had followed, were vivid memories of the moment. 

How inspiring to hear the music of the band, to behold the 
numerous vessels of the fleet decorated from bowsprit to yard- 
arm and topmast with flags and streamers, to recall the heroic 



1865.] SUMTER. 461 

sacrifices of those who had fought through the weary years, 
to know that Sumter, Moultrie, the city, and the State were 
redeemed from the worst system of vassalage, that our country 
was still a nation, renewed and regenerated by its baptism of 
fire and blood, that truth and right were vindicated before the 
world ; and to look down the coming years, and know that 
Freedom was secured to all beneath the folds of the flag that 
had withstood the intrigues of cabals and the shock of battle, 
and that Christianity and civilization, twin agents of human 
progress, had received an impetus that would forever keep us 
in the van of nations. 

Looking at that flag, involuntarily I repeated the words of 
the song which I heard when the shadows of night fell upon 
the gory field of Antietam, sung by our wounded in one of the 
hospitals : — 

" Our flag is there ! our flag is there ! 

We hail it with three loud huzzas ! 

Our flag is there ! our flag is there ! 

Behold the glorious stripes and stars ! 

Stout hearts have fought for that bright flag, 

Strong hands sustained it masthead high, 

And 0, to see how proud it waves, 

Brings tears of joy to every eye ! " 



462 FOUR YEAKS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

CHAELESTON. 

A CITY of ruins, — silent, mournful, in deepest humiliation. 
It was early morning when we reached the wharf, piled with 
merchandise, not busy with commercial activity as in other 
days, but deserted, its timbers rotting, its planks decayed, its 
sheds tumbling in and reeling earthward. Tlie slips, once 
crowded with steam and sailing vessels, were now vacant, ex- 
cept that an old sloop with a worm-eaten gunwale, tattered 
sails, and rigging hanging in shreds, alone remained. 

A few fishermen's dories only were rocking on the waves, 
tethered to the wharves by rotten ropes, where the great cotton 
Argos in former years had shipped or landed their cargoes. 

Before the sailors had time to make fast the steamer, myself 
and friend * were up the pier. The band was playing " Hail, 
Columbia," and the strains floated through the desolate city, 
awakening wild enthusiasm in the hearts of the colored peo- 
ple, who came rushing down the grass-grown streets to wel- 
come us. 

When near the upper end of the pier we encountered an old 
man bending beneath the weight of seventy years, — such 
years as slavery alone can pile upon the soul. He bowed very 
low. 

" Are you not afraid of us Yankees ? " 

" No, massa, God bless you. I have prayed many a night 
for you to come, and now you are here. Bless the Lord ! 
Bless the Lord ! " 

He kneeled, clasped my hand, and with streaming eyes 
poured out his thanks to God. 

Let us, before entering upon a narrative of military inci- 
dents, look at Charleston as she was at the beginning of the 

* James Redpath. 



1865.] CHAELESTON. 463 

Rebellion, when the great cotton mart of the Atlantic coast, 
with lines of steamships to New York and Boston. Then her 
wharves not only were piled with bales of cotton and tierces of 
rice, or with goods from the warehouses and manufactories of 
New England and Great Britain, but, next to New Orleans, she 
was the most populous city of the South, and, in proportion to 
the number of inhabitants, the wealthiest. Her banks and 
insurance offices were as stable as those of Wall Street. She 
aspired to be the commercial emporium of the South. The 
newspapers of Charleston taught the people .to believe that 
Secession and non-intercourse with the North would make the 
city the rival of New York. She first adopted the vagaries of 
her own son, 'Calhoun, on the rights of States. She proclaimed 
cotton king, not of America, but of the world, and in her pride 
believed that all nations could be brought to do her homage. 
She was rich and aristocratic, and looked upon the people of 
the North with contempt. 

" The Cavaliers, Jacobites, and Huguenots," wrote De Bow, 
" who settled the South, naturally hate, contemn, and despise 
the Puritans, who settled the North. The former are master 
races ; the latter a slave race, descendants of the Anglo-Saxon 
serfs." 

Through ignorance and vanity such assertions were accepted 
as truths. Boys and girls of the common schools of the North 
could have shown that, in the contests between the Cavaliers 
and Puritans, the Cavaliers were defeated ; that the Jacobites 
went down before the party which placed William of Orange on 
the throne. 

Charleston called the people of South Carolina into council. 
T\\Q Mercury — that able but wicked advocate of Secession — 
threw out from its windows this motto : " One voice and mil- 
lions of strong arms to uphold the honor of South Carolina ! " 
Not the honor of the nation or of the people, but of South 
Carolina, — the Mephistopheles of the Confederacy, the seducer 
of States. With honeyed words, and well-timed flattery she 
detached State after State from the Union. 

" Whilst constituting a portion of the United States," said 
South Carolina, in her address to the slaveholding States, " it 
has been your statesmanship which has guided it in its mighty 



464 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

strides to power and expansion. In the field and in the cabinet 
you have led the way to renown and grandeur." 

The ministers of her churches were foremost in abetting 
the Rebellion. Church and State, merchant and planter, all 
from high to low of the white population, brought themselves 
to believe that their influence was world-wide, through King 
Cotton and his prime minister, African Slavery. Hence the 
arrogance, fierce intolerance, and mad hate which had their 
only prototypes in the Rebellion of the Devil and his angels 
against Beneficent Goodness. 

The siege of Charleston was commenced on the 21st of 
August, 1863, by the opening of the " Swamp- Angel " battery. 
On the 7th of September Fort Wagner was taken, and other 
guns were trained upon the city, compelling the evacuation 
of the lower half. For fourteen months it had been continued ; 
not a furious bombardment, but a slow, steady fire from day to 
day. About thirteen thousand shells had been thrown into 
the town, — nearly a thousand a month. 

They were fired at a great elevation, and were plunging 
shots, — striking houses on the roof and passing down from 
attic to basement, exploding in the chambers, cellars, or in 
the walls. The effect was a complete riddling of the houses. 
Brick walls were blown into millions of fragments, roofs were 
torn to pieces ; rafters, beams, braces, scantlings, were splin- 
tered into jack-straws. Churches, hotels, stores, dwellings, 
piiblic buildings, and stables, all were shattered. There were 
great holes in the ground, where carf-loads of earth had been 
excavated in a twinkling. 

In 1860 the population of the city was 48,509, — 26,969 
whites, 17,655 slaves, and 3,885 free colored. The first flight 
from the city was in December, 1861, when Port Royal fell into 
the hands of Dupont ; but when it was found that the oppor- 
tunity afibrded at that time for an advance inland was not 
improved, most of those who had moved away rehirned. 
The attack of Dupont upon Sumter sent some flying again ; 
but not till the messengers of the "Swamp Angel" dropped 
among them did the inhabitants think seriously of leaving. 
Some went to Augusta, others to Columbia, others to Cheraw. 
Many wealthy men bought homes in the country. The upper 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 465 

part of the city was crowded. Men of fortune who had lived 
in princely style were compelled to put up with one room. Des- 
olation had been coming on apace. The city grew old rapidly, 
and had become the completest ruin on the continent. There 
were from ten to fifteen thousand people still remaining in it, 
two thirds of whom were colored. 

When Sherman flanked Orangeburg, Hardee, who com- 
manded the Rebels in Charleston, saw that he must evacuate 
the place. There was no alternative ; he must give up Sumter, 
Moultrie, and the proud old city to the Yankees. It was 
bittbr as death ! A few .of the heavy guns were sent off to 
North Carolina, all the trains which could be run on the rail- 
road were loaded with ammunition and commissary supplies, 
the guns in the forts were spiked, and the troops withdrawn. 

The inhabitants had been assured that the place should be 
defended to the last ; and in the Courier office we found the 
following sentence in type, which had been set up not twenty- 
four hours before the evacuation : " There are no indications 
that our authorities have the first intention of abandoning 
Charleston, as I have ascertained from careful inquiry ! " Du- 
plicity to the end. 

The Rebellion was inaugurated through deception, and had 
been sustained by an utter disregard of truth. 

Friday and Saturday were terrible days. Carts, carriages, 
wagons, horses, mules, all were brought into use. The rail- 
road trains were crowded. Men, women, and children fled, 
terror-stricken, broken-hearted, humbled in spirit, from their 
homes. How different from the 12th of April, 1861, when 
they stood upon the esplanade of the battery, sat upon the 
house-tops, clustered in the steeples, looking seaward, shouting 
and waving their handkerchiefs as the clouds of smoke and 
forked flames rolled up from Sumter ! 

" God don't pay at the end of every week, but he pays at last, 
my Lord Cardinal," said Anne of Austria. 

General Hardee remained in the city till Friday night, the 
17th instant, when he retired with the army, leaving a de- 
tachment of cavalry to destroy what he could not remove. 
Every building and shed in which cotton had been stored was 
fired on Saturday morning. The ironclads " Palmetto State," 

30 



466 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

" Chicora," and " Charleston " were also given to the flames. 
They lay at the wharves, and had each large quantities of pow- 
der and shell on board. General Hardee knew that the explo- 
sions of the magazines would send a storm of fire upon the 
city. He knew it would endanger the lives of thousands ; but 
what cared he ? Governor McGrath called upon the people to 
destroy their houses. The newspapers pointed to Moscow as a 
sublime instance of heroic devotion. Human life, the wailing 
of infants, the feebleness of old age, weighed nothing with 
Hampton, Hardee, McGrath, General Lee, or Jeff Davis. 

The torch was applied early on the morning of the 18th. The 
citizens sprang to the fire-engines and siicceeded in extinguish- 
ing the flames in several places ; but in other parts of the city 
the fire had its own way, burning till there was nothing more 
to devour. On the wharf of the Savannah Railroad depot were 
several hundred bales of cotton and several thousand bushels 
of rice. On Lucas Street, in a shed, were twelve hundred bales 
of cotton. There were numeroiis other sheds all filled. Near 
by was the Lucas mill, containing thirty thousand bushels of 
rice, and Walker's warehouse,' with a large amount of com- 
missary stores, all of which were licked up by the fire so re- 
morselessly kindled. 

At the Northeastern Railroad depot there was an immense 
amount of cotton which was fired. The depot was full of com- 
missary supplies and ammunition, powder in kegs, shells, and 
cartridges. The people rushed in to obtain the supplies. Sev- 
eral hundred men, women, and children were in the building 
when the flames reached the ammunition and the fearful explo- 
sion took place, lifting up the roof and bursting out the walls, 
and scattering bricks, timbers, tiles, beams, through the air; 
shells crashed through the panic-stricken crowd, followed by 
the shrieks and groans of the mangled victims lying helpless in 
the flames, burning to cinders in the all-devouring element. 
Nor was this all. At the wharves were the ironclads, burning, 
torn, rent, scattered over the water and land, — their shells and 
solid shot, iron braces, red-hot iron plates, falling in an infernal 
shower, firing the wharves, the buildings, and all that could 
burn. 

There was more than this. Two magnificent Blakely guns — 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 467 

one at the battery, the other near the gas-works on Cooper 
River — were loaded to the muzzle and trams laid to burst 
them. The concussion shattered all the houses in the immediate 
vicinity. 

The buildings near the Northeastern depot were swept away. 
All the houses embraced in the area of four squares disappeared. 
The new bridge leading to James Island was destroyed, the fire 
eating its way slowly from pier to pier through the day. The 
citizens did their utmost to stay the flames, but from sunrise 
to sunset on Saturday, all through Saturday night, Sunday, and 
Monday, the fire burned. How fearful this retribution for 
crime ! Abandoned by those who had cajoled and deceived 
them, who had brought about their calamity, while swearing 
to defend them to the last, humbled, reduced from affluence to 
poverty, the people of Charleston were compelled to endure the 
indescribable agony of those days. 

Colonel Bennett, commanding the Twenty-First United States 
Colored Troops on Morris Island, seeing signs of evacuation on 
Saturday morning, the 18th, hastened up the harbor in boats 
with his regiment, landing at the South Atlantic wharf. 

" In the name of the United States government," was his 
note to the Mayor, " I demand the surrender of the city of 
which you are the executive officer. Until further orders, all 
citizens will remain in their houses." 

The mayor, meanwhile, had despatched a deputation to Mor- 
ris Island with formal intelligence of the evacuation. 

" My command," wrote Colonel Bennett, " will render every 
possible assistance to your well-disposed citizens in extinguish- 
ing the flames." 

The Twenty-First United States Colored Troops was made up 
of the old Third and Fourth South Carolina regiments, and 
many of them were formerly slaves in the city of Charleston. 
They were enlisted at a time when public sentiment was against 
them, in the winter of 1862-63. I was at Port Royal then, 
and they were employed in the quartermaster's department. 
They were sneered at and abused by officers and men belonging 
to white regiments ; but Colonel Bennett continued steadfast 
in his determination, obtained arms after a long struggle, in 
which he was seconded by Colonel Littlefield, Inspector-General 



468 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

of colored troops in the department. Colonel Bennett had 
organized four companies of the Third and Colonel Littlefield 
four companies of the Fourth. The two commands were united 
and numbered as the Twenty-First United States Colored 
Troops. They went to Morris Island in 1863, took part in two 
or three engagements, and proved themselves good soldiers of 
the Union. It was their high privilege to be first in the city. 
The stone which the builders rejected once in the history of the 
world became the head stone of the corner ; and in like man- 
ner the poor, despised, rejected African race, which had no 
rights, against whom the city of Charleston plotted iniquity 
and inaugurated treason, marched into the city to save it 
from destruction ! Following the Twenty-First was a detach- 
ment of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts. 

"Let him lie buried beneath his niggers!" Stung by the 
insult to the memory of their lamented commander and by the 
sneer at themselves, will they not now wreak their vengeance 
on the ill-fated city ? It is their hour for retaliation. But 
they harbor in their hearts no malice or revenge. Conscious 
of their manhood, they are glad of another opportunity of 
showing it. 

The soldiers of the Fifty-Fourth have proved their prowess 
on the field of battle ; they have met the chivalry of South 
Carolina face to face, and shown their equality in courage and 
heroism, and on this ever-memorable day they make manifest 
to the world their superiority in honor and humanity. 

Let the painter picture it. Let the poet rehearse it. With 
the old flag above them, keeping step to freedom's drum-beat, up 
the grass-grown streets, past the slave-marts where their fami- 
lies and themselves had been sold in the public shambles, laying 
aside their arms, working the fire-engines to extinguish the 
flames, and, in the spirit of the Redeemer of men, saving that 
which was lost. 

" It was the intention of some of our officers to destroy the 
city," said one of the citizens ; " they not only set it on fire, but 
they double-shotted the guns of the iron-clads, and turned 
them upon the town, but fortunately no one was injured when 
they exploded." 

The lower half of the city was called Gillmore's town by the 
inhabitants. 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 469 

We visited the old office of the Mercury^ iu Broad Street. A 
messenger sent by the " Swamp Angel " had preceded us, en- 
tering the roof, exploding within the chimney, dumping several 
cart-loads of brickbats and soot into the editorial room, break- 
ing the windows and splintering the doors. It was the room in 
which Secession had its incubation. The leading rebellious 
spirits once sat there in their arm-chairs and enthroned King- 
Cotton. They demanded homage to his majesty from all na- 
tions. The first shell sent the Mercury up town to a safer 
locality, but when Sherman began his march into the interior, 
the Mercury fled into the country to Cheraw, right into his 
line of advance ! 

The Courier office in Bay Street had not escaped damage. 
A shell went down through the floors, ripping up the boards, 
jarring the plaster from the walls, and exploded in the second 
story, rattling all the tiles from the roof, bursting out the 
windows, smashing the composing-stone, opening the whole 
building to the winds. Another shell had dashed the sidewalk 
to pieces and blown a passage into the cellar, wide enough to 
admit a six-horse wagon. Near the Courier office were the 
Union Bank, Farmers' and Exchange Bank, and Charleston 
Bank, costly buildings, fitted up with marble mantels, floors 
of terra-cotta tiles, counters elaborate in carved work, and with 
gorgeous frescoing on the walls. There, five years ago, the 
merchants of the city, the planters of the country, the slave- 
traders, assembled on exchange, talked treason, and indulged 
in extravagant day-dreams of the future glory of Charleston. 

The rooms were silent now, the oaken doors splintered, the 
frescoing washed from the walls by the rains which drip from 
the shattered roof; tlie desks were kindling-wood, the highly- 
wrought cornice-work had dropped to the ground, the tiles were 
ploughed up, the marble mantles shivered, the beautiful plate- 
glass of the windows was in fragments upon the floor. The 
banks helped on the Rebellion, — contributed their funds to 
inaugurate it, and invested largely in the State securities to 
place the State on a war footing. The three banks named 
held on January 6, 1862, six hundred and ten thousand dol- 
lars' worth of the seven per cent State stock, issued under the 
act of December, 1861. 



470 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

* 

The entire amount of the State loan of one million eight 
hundred thousand dollars issued under that act was taken by 
the banks of the State. Every bank with the exception of the 
Bank of Camden and the Commercial Bank of Columbia 
subscribed to the stock. The seven Charleston banks at this 
early stage of the war had loaned the State permanently 
eleven hundred and forty-two thousand dollars.* 

At this stage of the war the State had twenty-seven thousand 
three hundred and sixty-two troops f in the field, out of a white 
jDopulation of two hundred and ninety-one thousand, by the 
census of 1860, — nearly one half of the voting population, 
so fiercely burned the fires of Secession. But the flames had 
reached their whitest heat. Even at that time the people had 
grown weary of the war, and refused to enlist. 

" The activity and energy had been already abstracted," 
writes the chief of the Military Department of the State ; 
" they had stricken at the sovereignty of the State ; ignorance, 
indolence, selfishness, disaffection, and to some extent disap- 
pointed ambition, were combined and made unwittingly to aid 
and abet the enemy, and to become the coadjutors of Lincoln 
and all the hosts of abolition myrmidons." :|: 

Passing from the banks to the hotel, we found a like scene 
of destruction. The doors of the Mills House were open. The 
windows had lost their glazing and were boarded up. Sixteen 
shots had struck the building. The rooms where Secession had 
been rampant in the beginning, where bottles of wine had been 
drunk over the fall of Sumter, echoed only to our footsteps. 
The Charleston Hotel, where Governor Pickens had uttered his 
proud, exultant, defiant words, was pierced in many places. 
Dining-halls, parlors, and chambers had been visited by mes- 
sengers from Wagner. I gathered strawberry flowers and 
dandelions from the grass-green pavement in front of the hotel, 
trodden by the drunken multitude on that night when the flag 
of the Union was humbled in the dust. 

No wild, tumultuous shoutings now, but silence deep, pain- 

* Report of Treasurer and Finance, South Carolina, 1862. 
t Report of James Chestnut, Chief Military Department, South Carolina, Jan- 
uary 1, 1862, p. 47. 
I Ibid., p. 24. 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 471 

ful, sorrowful. Our own voices only echoed along the corridors 
and balconies where surged the lunatics of that hour. We 
passed at will along the streets, wanderers in a desolate city. 
Along the Battery, a beautiful promenade of the city, shaded 
by magnolias, and fragrant with the bloom of roses and syrin- 
gas, overlooking the harbor, stood the residences of the " chiv- 
alric" men of South Carolina. From their balconies and win- 
dows the occupants had watched the first bombardment of 
Sumter. They had seen with joyful eyes the flames lick up 
the barracks, and the lowering of the flag of the Union. But 
now their palatial homes were wrecks, and they were fugitives. 
Doorless and windowless the licuses. The elaborate centre pie- 
ces of stucco-work in the drawing-rooms crumbled ; the bed- 
rooms filled with bricks, the white marble steps and mahogany 
balusters shattered ; owls and bats might build their nests in 
the coming spring-time undisturbed in the deserted mansions ; 
the esplanade of the Battery, the pleasure-ground of the Charles- 
tonians, their delight and pride, was now merely a huge em- 
bankment of earth, — a magazine of shot and sliell. 

The churches — where slavery had been preached as a mis- 
sionary institution, where Secession had been prayed for, where 
Te Deums had been sung over the fall of Sumter and hosannas 
shouted for the great victory of Manassas — were, like the 
houses, wrecks. The pavements were strewn with the glass 
shattered from the windows of old St. Michael's, the pride and 
reverence of Charleston ; and St. Philip's, where worshipped the 
rich men, where the great apostle of Secession and devotee 
of slavery, Calhoun, lies in his narrow cell, resembled an an- 
cient ruin. His grave, marked by a white marble slab, was 
unharmed, but the bones of his fellow-sleepers had been dis- 
turbed by the shells. The yard was overrun with weeds and 
briers. Bombs had torn through the church. Pigeons had free 
access. Buzzards might roost there undisturbed. 

In 1861 the heart of the city was burned out by a great fire, 
which swept from the Cooper River to the Ashley. How it 
ignited no one has told. The colored people are fully imbued 
with the belief that it was sent of the Lord. No attempt had 
been made to rebuild the waste. All the energy of the people 
had been given to prosecuting the war. There had been no 
sound of trowel, hammer, or saw, except upon the ironclads. 



472 FOUR TEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

The blackened area was overgrown with fire-weeds. Lean 
and hungry curs barked at us from the tenantless houses. Cats 
which once purred by pleasant firesides ran from their old 
haunts at our approach. The rats had deserted the wharves 
and moved up town with the people. The buzzards, which once 
picked up the garbage of the markets, had disappeared. A 
solitary rook cawed to us, perched on the vane of the court- 
house steeple. Spiders were spinning their webs in the count- 
ing-houses. 

It was an indescribable scene of desolation, — of roofless 
houses, cannon-battered walls, crumbling ruins, upheaved pave- 
ment, and grass-grown streets ; silent to all sounds of business, 
voiceless only to a few haggard men and women wandering 
amid the ruins, reflecting upon a jubilant past, a disappointed 
present, and a hopeless future ! 

" Her merchants were the great men of the earth ; for by 
their sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found 
the blood of the prophets and of the saints." 

Charleston was one of the great slave-marts of the South. 
She was the boldest advocate for the reopening of the slave- 
trade. Her statesmen legislated for it ; her ministers of the 
Gospel upheld it as the best means for Christianizing Africa and 
for the ultimate benefit of the whole human race. Being thus 
sustained, the slave-traders set up their auction-block in no out- 
of-the-way place. A score of men opened offices and dealt in 
the bodies and souls of men. Among them were T. Ryan & Son, 
M. M. McBride, J. E. Bowers, J. B. Oaks, J. B. Baker, Wilbur 
& Son, on State and Chalmers Streets. Twenty paces distant 
from Baker's was a building bearing the sign, " Theological 
Library, Protestant Episcopal Church." Standing by Baker's 
door, and looking up Chalmers Street to King Street, I read 
another sign, "Sunday-School Depository." Also, "Hibernian 
Hall," the building in which the ordinance of Secession was 
signed. In another building on the opposite corner was the 
Registry of Deeds. Near by was the guard-house with its 
grated windows, its iron bars being an appropriate design of 
double-edged swords and spears. Thousands of slaves had been 
incarcerated there for no crime whatever, except for being out 
after nine o'clock, or for meeting in some secret chamber to tell 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 473 

God their wrongs, with no white man present. They disobeyed 
the law by not listening to the bell of old St. Michael's, which 
at half past eight in the evening, in its high and venerable 
tower, opened its trembling lips and shouted, " Get you home ! 
Get you home ! " Always that ; always of command ; always 
of arrogance, superiority, and caste ; never of love, good-will, 
and fellowship. On Sunday morning it said, " Come and sit 
in your old-fashioned, velvet-cushioned pews, you rich ones! 
Go up stairs, you niggers ! " 

The guard-house doors were wide open. The jailer had lost 
his occupation. The last slave had been immured within 
its walls, and St. Michael's curfew was to be sweetest music 
thenceforth and forever. It shall ring the glad chimes of free- 
dom, — freedom to come, to go, or to tarry by the way ; free- 
dom from sad partings of wife and husband, father and son, 
mother and child. 

The brokers in flesh and blood took good care to be well but- 
tressed. They set up their market in a reputable quarter, 
with St. Michael's and the guard-house, the Registry of Deeds 
and the Sunday-School Depository, the Court-House and the 
Theological Library around them to make their calling re- 
spectable. 

But the " Swamp Angel " had splintered the pews of St. 
Michael's, demolished the pulpit, and made a record of its 
doings in the Registry building. At one stroke it opened the 
entire front of the Sunday-School Depository to the light of 
heaven. There was also a mass of evidence in the court- 
room — several cart-loads of brick and plaster, introduced by 
General Gillmore — against the right of a State to secede. 

I entered the Theological Library building through a window 
from which General Gillmore had removed the sash by a solid 
shot. A pile of old rubbish lay upon the floor, — sermons, 
tracts, magazines, books, papers, musty and mouldy, turning 
into pulp beneath the rain-drops which came down through 
the shattered roof. 

Amid these surrovmdings was the Slave-Mart, — a building 
with a large iron gate in front, above which, in large gilt letters, 
was the word MART. 

The outer iron gate opened into a hall about sixty feet long 



474 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

by twenty broad, flanked on one side by a long table running 
the entire length of the hall, and on the other by benches. At 
the farther end a door, opening through a brick wall, gave 
entrance to a yard. The door was locked. I tried my boot- 
heel, but it would not yield. I called a freedman to my aid. 
Unitedly we took up a great stone, and gave a blow. Another, 
and the door of the Bastile went into splinters. Across the 
yard was a four-story brick building, with grated windows and 
iron doors, — a prison. The yard was walled by high buildings. 
He who entered there left all hope behind. A small room 
adjoining the hall was the place where women were subjected 
to the lascivious gaze of brutal men. There were the steps, 
up which thousands of men, women, and children had walked 
to their places on the table, to be knocked oif to the highest 
bidder. The thought occurred to me that perhaps Governor 
Andrew, or Wendell Phillips, or William Lloyd Garrison 
would like to make a speech from those steps. I determined 
to secure them. While there a colored woman came into the 
hall to see the two Yankees. 

" I was sold there upon that table two years ago," said she. 

" You never will be sold again ; you are free now and for- 
ever I " I replied. 

" Thank God ! the blessed Jesus, he has heard my prayer. 
I am so glad ; only I wish I could see my husband. He was 
sold at the same time into the country, and has gone I don't 
know where." 

Thus spake Dinah More. 

In front of the mart was a gilt star. I climbed the post and 
wrenched it from its spike to secure it as a trophy. A freed- 
man took down the gilt letters for me, and knocked off the 
great lock from the outer iron gate, and the smaller lock from 
the inner door. The key of the French Bastile hangs at Mount 
Vernon ; and as relics of the American prison-house then be- 
ing broken up, I secured these. 

Entering the brokers' offices, — prisons rather, — we walked 
along the grated corridors, looked into the rooms where the 
slaves had been kept. In the cellar was the dungeon for the 
refractory, — bolts and staples in the floors, manacles for the 
hands and feet, chains to make all sure. There had evidently 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 475 

been a sudden evacuation of the premises. Books, letters, bills 
of sale, were lying on the floor. 

Let us take our last look of the Divine missionary institu- 
tion. Thus writes James H. Whiteside to Z. B. Oakes : — 

" I know of five very likely young negroes for sale. They are held 
at high prices, but I know the owner is compelled to sell next week, 
and they may be bought low enough so as to pay. Four of the negroes 
are young men, about twenty years old, and the other a very, likely 
young woman about twenty-two. I have never stripped them, but 
they seem to be all right." 

C. A. Merrill writes from Franklin : — 

" If I can I will come and buy some of your fancy girls and other 
negroes, if I can get them at a discount." 

A. J. McElveen writes from Sumterville : — 

" I send a woman, age twenty-two. She leaves two children, and 
her owner will not let her have them. She will run away. I pay for 
her in notes, $ 650. She is a house woman, handy with the needle, in 
fact she does nothing but sew and knit, and attend to house business." 

Another letter from the same : — 

" I met a man who offered me four negroes, — one woman and three 
girls, all likely and fine size for the ages, — thirty-six, thirteen, twelve, 
and nine. The two oldest girls are the same size ; all right as to teeth 
and person." 

I cannot transfer to these pages what follows ; decency 
forbids. 

Thomas Otey writes from Richmond : — 

" This market is fine. They are selling from twenty-five to fifty per 
day, and at fine prices. A yellow girl sold this morning for $1,320. 
No qualifications; black ones at $1,150; men at $1,400. Small ones 
in the ratio." 

There was no longer a manifestation of lordly insolence 
and assumed superiority over the Yankees on the part of 
the whites. They spoke respectfully, but were reticent except 
when questioned. Once they asked questions of Yankees : 
" What is your occupation ? What brought you to the South? 
What are you doing here? I believe you are a Abo- 
litionist, and the quicker you get out of this town the bet- 
ter." Such was formerly their language. So they talked to 



476 



/ FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 



Judge Hoar, a citizen of Massachusetts. So they talked to 
Colonel Woodford in 1860. 

In 1860, in the month of December, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Woodford, of the One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh New 
York volunteers, was in Charleston on business. He was 
waited on one day by a committee of citizens and informed 
that he had better leave the city, inasmuch as he was a North- 
ernerj and besides was suspected of being an Abolitionist. He \ 
was put on board a steamer, and compelled to go North. ! 
He was now Provost Marshal of the Department. On the 
morning of the 20th he visited the office of the Charleston 
Courier. The editors had fled the city, but the business man 
of the establishment remained to protect it. Colonel Wood- 
ford was received very graciously. The following conversa- 
tion passed between them : — 

Colonel W. " Whom have I the pleasure of addressing ? " 

Business man. " Mr. L , sir." 

Will you do me the favor to loan me a piece of 



Col. 


W. 


paper 


? " 


Mr. 


L. 


Col. 


W. 


Mr. 


L. 



" Certainly, certainly, sir." 
" Shall I also trouble you for a pen and ink ? " 
" With pleasure, sir." 
The ink was muddy and the pen poor, but the business man, 
with great alacrity, obtained another bottle and a better pen. 
Colonel W. commenced writing again : — 

" Office Provost Marshal, 
Charleston, February 20, 1865. 
" Special Order, No. 1. 

"■ The Charleston Courier establishment is hereby taken possession 
of by the United States." 

Mr. L. had been overlooking the writing, forgetful of cour- 
tesy in his curiosity. He could hold in no longer. 

" Colonel, surely you don't mean to confiscate my property ! 
Wliy ., I opposed nullification in 1830 ! " 

" That may be, sir, but you have done what you could to 
oppose the United States since 1860. If you will show me by 
your files that you have uttered one loyal word since January 
1, 1865, I will take your case into consideration." 

He could not, and the Courier passed into other liands. 

The rich men of the city — those who had begun and sus- 



'\i /6 



Vv^ J ^ r'W 



1865.] ■ CHARLESTON. 477 

tallied the Eebellion — fled when they saw that the place was 
to fall into the hands of the Yankees. But how bitter the 
humiliation ! On the Sunday preceding, Rev. Dr. Porter, of 
the Church of the Holy Communion, preached upon the duty 
of fighting the Yankees to the last. " Fight ! fight, my friends, 
till the streets run blood ! Perish in the last ditch rather than 
permit the enemy to obtain possession of your homes ! " 

But on Monday morning Dr. Porter was hastening to Che- 
raw, to avoid being caught in Sherman's trap. The people of 
Charleston expected that Sherman would swing round upon 
Branchville, and come into the city, and therefore hastened to 
Columbia, Cheraw, and other northern towns of the interior, 
where not a few of them became acquainted with the " Bum- 
mers." 

Rev. Dr. Porter owned a fine residence, which he turned 
over to an English lady. As there were no hotel accommoda- 
tions, my friend and I were obliged to find private lodgings, 
and were directed to the house of the Rev. Doctor. We were 

courteously received l)y Mrs. , a lady in middle life, still 

wearing the bloom of old England on her cheeks, although 
several years a resident of the sunny South. Rising early in 
the morning, for a stroll through the city before breakfast, I 
found the cook and chambermaid breaking out in boisteroVis 
laughter. The cook danced, clapped her hands, sat down in a 
chair, and reeled backward and forward in unrestrained ecstasy. 

" What pleases you. Aunty ? " I asked. 

" massa ! I 's tickled to tink dat massa Dr. Porter, who 
said dat no Yankee eber would set his foot in dis yar city, had 
to cut for his life, and dat a Yankee slept in his bed last night ! 
Bless de Lord for dat ! " 

The white women manifested their hatred to the bitter end. 

" I '11 set fire to my house before the Yankees shall have 
possession of the city ! " was the exclamation of one excited 
lady, when it was whispered that the place was to be evacu- 
ated ; but her Rebel friends saved her the trouble by applying 
the torch themselves. 

The colored people looked upon the Yankees as their deliv- 
erers from bondage. They spoke of their coming as the advent 
of the Messiah. Passing along King Street, near the citadel, 



478 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

with my fellow-correspondent, we met an old negress with a 
basket on her arm, a broad-brimmed straw hat on her head, 
wearing a brown dress and roundabout. She saw that we 
were Yankees, and made a profound courtesy. 

" How do you do, Aunty ? " 

" bless de Lord, I 's very well, tank you," grasping my 
hand, and dancing for joy. " I am sixty-nine years old, but 
I feel as if I wan't but sixteen." She broke into a chant, — 

" Ye 's long been a-comin, 
Ye 's long been a-comin, 
Ye 's long been a-comin, 
For to take de land ; 

" And now ye 'a a-comin, 
And now ye *s a-comin. 
And now ye 's a-comin, 
For to rule de land." 

And then, clapping her hands, said, " Bless de Lord ! Bless de 
dear Jesus ! " 

" Then you are glad the Yankees are here ? " 

" chile ! I can't bress de Lord enough ; but I does n't call 
you Yankees." 

" What do you call us ? " 

" I call you Jesus's aids, and I call you head man de Mes- 
siah." She burst out into a rhapsody of hallelujah and 
thanksgivings. " I can't bress de Lord enough ; and bress 
you, chile : I can't love you enough for comin." 

" Were you not afraid. Aunty, when the shells fell into the 
town ? " 

She straightened up, raised her eyes, and with a look of tri- 
umphant joy, exclaimed, — 

" When Mr. Gillmore fired de big gun and I hear de shell 
a-rushin ober my head, I say. Come dear Jesus, and I feel 
nearer to Heaben dan I eber feel before ! " 

My laundress at Port Royal was Rosa, a young colored wo- 
man, who escaped from Charleston in 1862, with her husband 
and four other persons, in a small boat. On that occasion 
Rosa dressed herself in men's clothes, and the whole party 
early one morning rowed past Sumter, and made for the 
gunboats. 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 479 

" If you go to Charleston I wish you would see if my mother 
is there," said Rosa. " Governor Aiken's head man knows 
where she lives." 

We went up King Street to Governor Aiken's. We found 
his " head man " in the yard, — a courteous black, who, as soon 
as he learned that we were Yankees, and had a message from 
Rosa to her mother, dropped all work and started with us, 
eager to do anything for a Yankee. A walk to John Street, an 
entrance through a yard to the rear of a dwelling-house, 
brought us to the mother, in a small room, cluttered with 
pots, kettles, tables, and chairs. Slie was sitting on a stool 
before the fire, cooking her scanty breakfast of corn-cake. She 
had a little rice meal in a bag given her by a Rebel officer. 
She was past sixty years of age, — -a large, strong woman, with 
a wide, high forehead and intellectual features. She was 
clothed in a skirt of dingy negro cloth, a sack of old red car- 
peting, and poor, thin canvas shoes of her own make. Such 
an introduction ! 

" Here comes de great Messiah, wid news of Rosa ! " said my 
introducer, with an indescribable dramatic flourish. 

The mother sprang from the stool with a cry of joy. " From 
Rosa ? From Rosa ? 0, thank the Jjord ! " She took hold of 
my hands, looked at me with intense earnestness and joy, and 
yet with a shade of doubt, as if it could not be true. 

" From Rosa ? " 

" Yes, Aunty." 

She kneeled upon the floor and looked up to heaven. She 
saw not us, but God and Jesus. The tears streamed from her 
eyes. She recounted in prayer all her long years of slavery, 
of suffering, of unrequited toil, and achings of the heart. 
" You have heard me, dear Jesus ! blessed Lamb ! " 

It was a conversation between herself and the Saviour. She 
told him the story of her life, of all its sorrows, of his good- 
ness, kindness, and love, the tears rolling down her cheeks the 
while and falling in great drops upon the floor. She wanted 
us to stay and partake of her humble fare, pressed my hands 
again and again ; and when we told her we must go, she asked 
for God's best blessing and for Jesus' love to follow us. It 
was a prayer from the heart. We had carried to her the news 



480 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

that she was free, and that her Rosa was still alive. The long- > 
looked-for jubilee morning had dawned, and we were to her 
God's messengers, bringing the glad tidings. It was one of the 
most thrilling moments I ever experienced. 

This woman had been a slave, had been sold, exposed to 
insult, had no rights which a white man was bound to respect. 
So said the Chief Justice of the United States, Roger B. Ta- 
ney. God ordained her, in his beneficent goodness, to be a 
slave. So preached Rev. Dr. Thornwell, the great South Car- 
olina theologian ; so said the Southern Presbyteries, by solemn 
resolutions. Remembering these things, I went out from that 
humble dwelling with my convictions deepened that it was 
God's war, and that the nation was passing through the fire in 
just punishment for its crimes against humanity. 

The 22d of February, .Washington's birthday, was celebrated 
in Charleston as never before. In the afternoon a small party 
of gentlemen from the North sat down to a dinner. Among 
them were Colonel Webster, Chief of General Sherman's staff, 
Colonel Markland of the Post-Office Department, several officers 
of the army and navy, and four journalists, all guests of a 
patriotic gentleman from Philadelphia, Mr. Getty. 

Our table was spread in the house of a caterer who for- 
merly had provided sumptuous dinners for the Charlestonians. 
He was a mulatto, and well understood his art ; for, notwith- 
standing the scarcity of provisions in the city, he was able to 
provide an excellent entertainment, set off with canned fruits, 
which had been put up in England, and had run the gauntlet 
of the blockade. 

Sentiments were offered and speeches made, which in other 
days would have been called incendiary. Five years before if 
they had been uttered there the speakers would have ma^e the 
acquaintance of Judge Lynch, and been treated to a gratuitous 
coat of tar and feathers, or received some such chivalric atten- 
tion, if they had not dangled from a lamp-post or the nearest 
tree. Lloyd's Concert Band, colored musicians, were in at- 
tendance, and "Hail Columbia," the "Star-Spangled Banner," 
and " Yankee Doodle," — songs which had not been heard for 
years in that city, — were sung with enthusiasm. To stand 
there, with open doors and windows, and speak freely without 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 481 

fear of mob violence, was worth all the precious boon had 
cost, — to feel that our words, our actions, our thoughts even, 
were not subject to the misinterpretation of irresponsible in- 
quisitors, — that we were not under Venetian espionage, but 
in free America, answerable to God alone for our thoughts, 
and to no man for our actions, so long as thej did not in- 
fringe the rights of others. 

Henceforth there shall be free speech in Charleston. A 
party of twenty gentlemen began the new era on the 22d of 
February, and to me it will ever be a pleasant reflection that 
I was one of the privileged number. 

While dining we heard the sound of drums and a chorus 
of voices. Looking down the broad avenue we saw a column 
of troops advancing with steady step and even i^nks. It was 
nearly sunset, and their bayonets were gleaming in the level 
rays. It was General Potter's brigade, led by the Fifty-Fifth 
Massachusetts, — a regiment recruited from the ranks of 
slavery. Sharp and shrill the notes of the fife, stirring the 
drum-beat, deep and resonant the thousand voices singing 
their most soul-thrilling war-song, — 

" John Brown's body lies a mouldering in the grave." 

Mingling with the chorus were cheers for Governor Andrew 
and Abraham Lincoln ! 

They raised their caps, hung them upon their bayonets. 
Proud their bearing. They came as conquerors. Some of 
them had walked those streets before as slaves. Now they 
were freemen, — soldiers of the Union, defenders of its flag. 

Around them gathered a dusky crowd of men, women, and 
children, dancing, shouting, mad with very joy. Mothers held 
up their little ones to see the men in blue, to catch a sight 
of the starry flag, with its crimson folds and tassels of gold. 

" O dark, sad millions, patiently and dumb. 
Waiting for God, your hour at last has come, 

And freedom's song 
Breaks the long silence of your night of wrong." 

Up the avenue, past the citadel, with unbroken ranks, 
they marched, offering no insult, uttering no epithet, mani- 
festing no revenge, for all the wrongs of centuries heaped upon 
them by a people now humbled and at their mercy. 

31 



482 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

Wliile walking down the street an hour later, I inquired mj 
way of a white woman. She was going in the same direction, 
and kindly volunteered to direct me. 

" How do the Yankees behave ? " I asked. 

"0, they behave well enough, but the niggers are dreadful 
sassy." 

" They have not insulted you, I hope." 

" no, they have n't insulted me, but they have other 
folks. They don't turn out when we meet them ; they 
smoke cigars and go right up to a gentleman and ask him 
for a light ! " 

The deepest humiliation to the Charlestonians was the pres- 
ence of negro soldiers. They were the provost guard of the 
city, with their head-quarters in the citadel. Whoever desired 
protection papers or passes, whoever had business with the 
marshal or the general commanding the city, rich or poor, 
high-born or low-born, white or black, man or woman, must 
meet a colored sentinel face to face and obtain from a colored 
sergeant permission to enter the gate. They were first in the 
city, and it was their privilege to guard it, their duty to main- 
tain law and order. 

A Rebel officer who had given his parole, but who was 
indiscreet enough to curse the Yankees, was quietly marched 
off to the guard-house by these colored soldiers. It was gall- 
ing to his pride, and he walked with downcast eyes and sub- 
dued demeanor. 

The gorgeous spectacle of the numerous war vessels in the 
harbor flaming with bunting from yardarm and topmast, and 
thundering forth a national salute in double honor of the day 
and ' the victory, deeply impressed the minds of the colored 
population with the invincibility of the Yankees. 

" gosh a mighty ! It is no use for de Rebs to think of 
standing out against de Yankees any longer. I '11 go home 
and bring Dinah down to see de sight ! " cried an old freed- 
man as he beheld the fleet. Bright colors are the delight of 
the African race, and a grand display of any kind has a won- 
derful effect on their imagination. 

Neither the white nor the colored people comprehended the 
change which had taken place in their fortunes. The whites 



1865.] CHARLESTON. 483 

forgot that they were no longer slave-drivers. Passing down 
Rutledge Street one morning I saw a crowd around the door 
of a building. A friend who was there in advance of me said 
that he heard an outcry, looked in, and found a white man 
whipping a colored woman. Her outcries brought a colored 
sergeant of the Provost Guard and a squad of men, who quietly 
took the woman away, told her to go where she pleased, and 
informed the man that that sort of thing was " played out." 
Two white women were passing at the time. " my God ! 
To think that we should ever come to this ! " was the excla- 
mation of one. " Yes, madam, you have come to it, and will 
have to come to a good deal more," was the reply of my friend. 

There were a few Union men in the city, who through the 
long struggle had been true to the old flag. They were mostly 
Germans. Many Union officers escaping from prison had been 
kindly cared for by these faithful friends, who had been sub- 
jected to such close surveillance that secretiveness had become 
a marked trait of character. 

I saw a small flag waving from a window, and wishing to find 
out what sort of a Union man resided there, rang the bell. A 
man came to the door, of middle age, light hair, and an honest 
German face. 

" I saw the stars and stripes thrown out from your window, 
and have called to shake hands with a Union man, for I am a 
Yankee." 

He grasped my proffered hand and shook it till it ached. 

" Come in, sir. God bless you, sir ! " 

Then suddenly checking himself, he lowered his voice, looked 
into the adjoining rooms, peeped behind doors, to see if there 
were a listener near. 

" We have to be careful ; spies all about us," said he, not 
fully realizing that the soldiers of the Union had possession of 
the city. He showed me a large flag. 

" Since the fall of Sumter," said he, " my wife and I have 
slept on it every night. We have had it sewed into a feather- 
bed." 

He gazed upon it as if it were the most blessed thing in the 
world. 

He had aided several soldiers in escaping from prison ; and 



484 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [Feb. 

Oil one occasion had kept two officers secreted several weeks, 
till an opportunity oifered to send them out to the blockading 
fleet. 

During the bombardment of the city, the newspapers had 
published their daily bulletins, — "So many shells fired. No 
damage." From the proud beginning to the humiliating 
breaking up of the rule of Secession, the people were cheated, 
deluded, and deceived by false promises and lying reports. It 
was sad to walk amid the ruins of what had been once so fair. 
It seemed a city of a past age and of an extinct generation. 
And it was. The Charleston of former days was dead as Pal- 
myra. Old things had passed away ; a new generation will 
behold a wondrous change. 

" Along that dreary waste where lately rung 
The festal lay which smihng virgins sung, 
Where rapture echoed from the warbling lute, 
And the gay dance resounded, all was mute." 



1865.] THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 485 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 

Hastening northward, I joined the Army of the Potomac in 
season to be an observer of Grant's last campaign. It was 
evident that the power of the Rebellion to resist was rapidly on 
the wane. In the West there were several small Rebel forces, 
but no large organized body. Hood's defeat at Nashville had 
paralyzed operations east of the Mississippi. Johnston was 
falling back before Sherman, without ability to check his ad- 
vance. 

Grant had strengthened his own army. Schofield was at 
"Wilmington, preparing to co-operate with Sherman. Sheridan 
was in the Valley, at Winchester, — his cavalry in excellent 
condition for a move. The cavalry arm of the service had been 
growing in importance. Grant had fostered it, and now held it 
in his hand, as Jove his thunderbolts. His letter to Sheridan, 
written on the 20th of February, shows how thoroughly he 
had prepared for the finishing work. 

" As soon as it is possible to travel," he writes, " I think you 
will have no difficulty about reaching Lynchburg with a cavalry 
force alone. From thence you could destroy the railroad and 
canal in every direction, so as to be of no further use to the 
Rebellion. Sufficient cavalry should be left behind to look 
after Mosby's gang. From Lynchburg, if information you 
might get there would justify it, you could strike south, head- 
ing the streams in Virginia to the westward of Danville, and 
push on and join Sherman. This additional raid, with one 
now about starting from East Tennessee, under Stoneman, 
numbering four or five thousand cavalry ; one from Eastport, 
Mississippi, numbering ten thousand cavalry ; Canby from 
Mobile Bay, numbering thirty-eight thousand mixed troops, — 
these three latter pushing for Tuscaloosa, Selma, and Mont- 
gomery, and Sherman with a large army eating out the vitals 



486 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

of South Carolina, is all that will be wanted to leave nothing 
for the Rebellion to stand upon. I would advise you to over- 
come great obstacles to accomplish this. Charleston was evacu- 
ated on Tuesday last." 

Sheridan started on the 27th of February with two divis- 
ions of cavalry, numbering about ten thousand men, reached 
Staunton on the 2d of March, fell upon Early at Waynesboro', 
capturing sixteen hundred prisoners, eleven guns, seventeen 
battle-flags, and two hundred wagons ; occupied Charlottesville 
on the od, destroyed the railroad, and burned the bridge on 
the Rivanna River. A rain-storm delaying his trains, and 
obliging him to wait two days, he abandoned the attempt to 
reach Sherman ; then dividing his force, he sent one division 
towards Lynchburg, which broke up the railroad, while the 
other went down James River, cutting the canal. He in- 
tended to cross the James at New Market, move southeast to 
Appomattox Court-House, strike the South Side Railroad, tear 
it up, and join Grant's left flank ; but a freshet on the James 
prevented the accomplishment of his purpose. He therefore 
sent scouts through the Rebel lines to Grant, to inform him 
of the difficulties he had encountered and consequent change 
of plan. 

" I am going to White House, and shall want supplies at 
that point," said he. The scouts left him on the 10th at Co- 
lumbia, and reached Grant on the 12th. Sheridan made a 
rapid march, passing quite near Richmond on the north, 
and raising a midnight alarm in the Rebel capital. 

" Couriers reported that the enemy were at the outer fortifi- 
cations, and had burned Ben Green's house," writes a citizen 
of Richmond. ^ 

" Mr. Secretary Mallory and Postmaster-General R^an were 
in the saddle, and rumor says the President and the remainder 
of the cabinet had their horses saddled, in readiness for 
flight." * 

Sheridan was not quite so near, and had no thought of 
attacking the city. He passed quietly down the north bank of 
the Pamunkey to the White House, where supplies were in wait- 

* Rebel War Clerk's Diary, Vol. II. p. 446. 



1865.] THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 487 

ing. He rested his horses a day or two, and then moved to 
Petersburg, 

At daylight on the morning of the 25th of March Lee made 
his last offensive movement. 

He conceived the idea of breaking Grant's line east of Pe- 
tersburg, and destroying his supplies at City Point. The first 
part he successfully accomplished, but the last could not have 
been carried out. He massed Gordon's and Bushrod John- 
son's divisions in front of the Ninth Corps, for an attack upon 
Fort Steadman and the batteries adjoining. The fort was held 
by the Fourteenth New York Heavy Artillery. It was a square 
redoubt, covering about one acre, and mounted nine guns, 
and was not more than five hundred feet from the Rebel line. 
The Rebels tore away their own abatis, and in less than a 
minute were inside the fort. Almost the whole garrison was 
captured, and the guns turned upon the batteries. 

Colonel Tidball, commanding the artillery in the Ninth 
Corps, quickly had his men at work. General Parke, com- 
manding the Ninth, threw Hartranft's and Wilcox's divisions 
in rear of Fort Steadman. They fell like a thunderbolt upon 
Gordon's front line, taking eighteen hundred prisoners, forcing 
the enemy out of the fort, and recapturing the guns. 

Long and loud the huzzas which went np when the guns 
were wheeled once more upon the discomfited foe. President 
Lincoln saw the battle from the high ground near the house 
of Mr. Dunn. During the forenoon Gordon sent in a flag of 
truce, asking permission to bury his dead, which was granted. 
The Union loss was not far from eight hundred and thirty, 
mostly in prisoners, while Lee's exceeded three thousand. 

General Meade ordered a general attack. He thouglit that 
there must be a weak place in some portion of the Rebel line. 
The Second and Sixth Corps succeeded in taking the in- 
trenched picket line, and holding it. Great efforts were made 
by Lee to regain it, but in vain. Nine hundred prisoners were 
captured during the afternoon. 

I rode to City Point in the evening, and visited Grant's head- 
quarters. General Grant was well satisfied with the results of 
the day. 

" It will tell upon the next great battle," said he. " Lee has 



488 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [March, 

made a desperate attempt and failed. The new recruits fought 
like veterans." 

He had already issued his order for the grand movement 
which was to give the finishing blow to the Rebellion. He 
had been impelled to this by various causes, not the least of 
which was the unjust course pursued by some of the newspapers 
of the West, which lauded Sherman and his men, but sneered 
at the Army of the Potomac. The soldiers of the East had 
accomplished nothing, they said, and the soldiers of the' West 
would have to finish the Rebellion. Sherman had fought his 
way from Chattanooga to the sea. He was driving all before 
him. He would come in on Graiit's left flank and rout Lee. 
These taunts and inuendoes were keenly felt by the men who 
had won the fields of Gettysburg, Antietam, Wilderness, Spott- 
sylvania, and who had lost eighty thousand of their comrades 
in forty days. Grant felt it. He saw the dangerous tendency 
of such jealousy. He knew what the Eastern soldiers could 
do ; that they had fought with unsurpassed bravery and hero- 
ism. To avoid sectional animosity between the East and the 
West, he determined to strike Lee before Sherman's arrival, 
and accordingly issued his order on the 24th. 

But Sherman meanwhile visited Grant in person. I was 
sitting in the office of General Grant's Adjutant-General on 
the morning of the 28th of March, and saw President Lincoln, 
with Generals Grant, Sherman, Meade, and Sheridan, coming up 
the walk. Look at the men whose names are to have a con- 
spicuous place in the annals of America. Lincoln, tall, round- 
shouldered, loose-jointed, large-featured, deep-eyed, with a smile 
upon his face. He is dressed in black, and wears a fash- 
ionable silk hat. Grant is at Lincoln's right, shorter, stouter, 
more compact ; wears a military hat with a stiff, broad brim, 
has his hands in his pantaloons' pockets, and is puffing away 
at a cigar while listening to Sherman. Sherman, tall, with 
high, commanding forehead, is almost as loosely built as Lin- 
coln ; has sandy whiskers, closely cropped, and sharp, twink- 
ling eyes, long arms and legs, shabby coat, slouch hat, his pants 
tucked into his boots. He is talking hurriedly, gesticulating 
now to Lincoln, now to Grant, his eyes wandering everywhere. 
Meade, also tall, with thin, sharp features, a gray beard, and 



1865.] THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 489 

spectacles, is a little stooping in his gait. Sheridan, the shortest 
of all, quick and energetic in all his movements, with a face 
bronzed by sun and wind ; courteous, affable, a thorough sol- 
dier. I had not met him for many months, but he at once 
remembered me, and spoke of Pittsburg Landing, where I first 
made his acquaintance. The plan of the Lieutenant-General 
was then made known to his subordinates, and each departed 
during the day, to carry into execution the respective parts 
assigned them. 

Grant's line was nearly forty miles long, extending from the 
north side of the James to Hatcher's Run. General Ord, who 
had succeeded Butler in command of the Army of the James, 
left Weitzel to maintain the position north of James River, and 
moved with two divisions of the Twenty-Fourth Corps under 
Gibbon, and one of the Twenty-Fifth under Birney, with a 
division of cavalry under McKenzie, to Hatcher's Run, arriving 
there on the morning of the 29th. 

On the afternoon of the 28th Sheridan started with Crook's 
and Merritt's divisions of cavalry for Dinwiddie Court-House, 
while Warren with the Fifth Corps crossed Hatcher's Run, and 
marched towards the same point. 

" We have four days' rations in our haversacks, and twelve 
days' in our wagons," said Colonel Batchelder, Quartermaster- 
in-chief of the Army of the Potomac. 

Lee discovered the movement, and during the evening of 
the 29th made a diversion against the Ninth Corps. Precisely 
at ten o'clock there was a signal-gun, a yell, a volley of mus- 
ketry as the Rebels attacked Parke's picket-line. Then came 
the roar of the cannonade. The Ninth Corps was prepared. 
Through the afternoon there had been suspicious movements 
along the Rebel lines, and Parke was on the watch. It was 
surmised that Lee would endeavor to compel Grant to recall 
the Fifth and Second Corps. Parke strengthened his picket- 
line, and brought up his reserve artillery, to be ready in case 
of emergency. In three minutes nearly two hundred guns 
and mortars were in play. The night was dark, the wind 
south, and rain falling, but the battle increased in inten- 
sity. I stood upon the hill in rear of the Ninth Corps, and 
witnessed the display. Thirty shells were in the air at the 



490 



rOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[March, 



same instant. The horizon was bright with fiery arches, cross- 
ing each other at all angles, cut horizontally by streams of fire 
from rifled cannon. Beneath the arches thousands of muskets 
were flashing. It surpassed in sublimity anything I had wit- 
nessed during the war. The slightly wounded in the hospitals 
of the Ninth Corps who could walk went out with me to see 
the fight. 

" I wish I was down there with the boys," said one who the 
day before had received a bullet through his right liand. 

After two hours of terrific cannonade the uproar ceased, Lee 
having found that Grant's lines were as strong as ever. The 
demonstration cost him several hundred soldiers. I talked 
with one of the wounded Rebels. 

" You can't subdue us even if you take Richmond," said 
he ; " we '11 fight it out in the mountains." 

" Undoubtedly you feel like fighting it out, but you may 
think better of it one of these days." 

A delegate of the Christian Commission sat down to write a 
letter for him to his wife, to be sent by a flag of truce. 

" Tell her," said he, " that I am kindly treated." 

His voice choked and tears rolled down his cheeks. A nurse 
stood over him bathing his wounds to cool the fever, combing 
his hair, and anticipating all his wants. I recalled the words 
of a citizen of Savannah, who said, " I went to the stockade 
when your prisoners were brought down from Millen, with a 
basket of oranges to give to the sick and dying, but was told 
by the officer in command that his orders were imperative to 
allow no one to give anything to the prisoners." 

Observe the contrast. Here were good beds, nourishing food, 
delicacies from the stores of the Christian and Sanitary Com- 
missions, and kind attention. There see a crowd of wretches 
in rags, exposed to the winds, the rains, the broiling heat or 
the biting cold, eating corn-meal and water, and meat alive 
with maggots, — stinted till starved, held captive till hope died, 
till the mind wandered, and the victims became drivelling 
imbeciles or walking skeletons, and greeted death as a wel- 
come release from the horrors of their prison-pen. But I have 
adverted to this before ; still commentary is ever provoked. 

Hatcher's Run, an affluent of Rowanty Creek, has a gen- 



1865.] THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 491 

eral southeast course. It is crossed by three main highways, 
which lead out of Petersburg towards the southwest, — the 
Vaughn road farthest east, Squirrel Level road next, and last 
the Boydtown plank-road. The Squirrel Level road forks seven 
miles out, one fork running to the Vaughn road and the other 
to the plank-road. It is nine miles from Petersburg to the toll- 
gate on the plank-road, which is situated a few rods south of 
the run. The stream above this crossing of the plank-road tends 
west and southwest, so that if a fisherman with his rod and fly 
were to start at the head-waters .of the creek he would travel 
northeast, then east, then at the bridge on the plank-road south- 
east, and after reaching the Vaughn road, south. 

Were we to stand upon the bi-idge where the plank-road 
crosses the stream, and look northeast, we would obtain a view 
of the inside of the Rebel lines. The bridge was in Lee's pos- 
session, also the toll-gate on the south side, also a portion of 
the White Oak road, which branches from the plank road, near 
the toll-gate, and leads west, midway between the run and the 
plank-road. 

The country is densely wooded, mostly with pine, with occa- 
sional clearings. Several steam saw-mills have been erected 
in this vicinity, which cut timber for the Petersburg market. 
The plank-road leads to Dinwiddle Court-House, which is fifteen 
miles from Petersburg. Just beyond the Court-House is Stony 
Creek, which has a southeast course, with a branch called 
Chamberlain's Bed, coming down from the north, having its 
rise in a swamp near the head of Hatcher's Run. 

Now to understand the direction of the Rebel line of fortifi- 
cations, let us in imagination start from Petersburg and walk 
down the plank-road. We face southwest, and walk in rear of 
fort after fort nine miles to Hatcher's Run, where a strong 
work has been erected on the north bank of the stream. We 
cross the bridge and find another on the south bank near the 
toll-house and Burgess's tavern. Here we leave the plank- 
road, and turning west walk along the White Oak road with 
Hatcher's Run north of us a mile distant. Four miles from 
the town we come to "Five Forks," where five roads meet, 
midway the head of Chamberlain's Bed and Hatcher's Run. 
This is ai| important point, — the key of Petersburg, — which, 



492 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [March, 

altliougli so far away from the town, and apparently of no im- 
portance, is in reality the most vital point of all. There is no 
stream immediately behind or before it, but a mile south is the 
swamp of Chamberlain's Run ; a mile north the low lands of 
Hatcher's Run, but here firm, hard ground. If Grant can 
break through this gateway he can tear up the rails of the 
South Side road, have unobstructed passage to the Danville 
road, and Richmond and Petersburg are his. It is six miles 
from the Forks, north, to the railroad, but that is the best place 
for Lee to fight, and there he establishes a strong line of works. 

Grant's movement was that of fishermen stretching a seine. 
He kept one end of the net firmly fastened to the bank of the 
Appomattox, while Sheridan drew the other past Dinwiddie 
Court-House to Five Forks, with the intention of reaching the 
railroad west of Petersburg, to enclose, if possible, Lee's entire 
army. Such the plan, — noble in conception, grand in exe- 
cution. 

Sheridan had started to cut the South Side road at Burkes- 
ville, but Grant, upon deliberation, decided to strike nearer. 

" I feel like ending the matter, if it is possible to do so, be- 
fore going back," wrote Grant, from Gravelly Run, — three 
miles west of Hatcher's Run, " I do not want you to cut 
loose and go after the enemy's roads at present. In the morn- 
ing push round the enemy if you can, and get on to his right 
rear." 

The rain which commenced falling at midnight on the 29th 
continued through the 30th and the forenoon of the 31st, but 
Sheridan kept in motion, reached Dinwiddie at five o'clock on 
the 29th, where he bivouacked. 

On the morning of the 30th he came in contact with the 
Rebels a mile beyond the Court-House, posted on the west 
bank of Chamberlain's Run. • 

W. H. F. Lee's cavalry held the right of the Rebel line, with , 
Pickett's division of infantry on the left. During the forenoon ( 
Bushrod Johnson's division of infantry came down from Five 
Forks and formed on Pickett's left. j 

Sheridan reconnoitred the position during the forenoon, and 
began the attack about two P. M., but the ground was marshy, 
and his horses could not be used. Johnson's and Pickett's 



1865.] THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 493 

divisions, and Wise's brigade, which also had arrived, crossed 
the run about half past two. The fight was severe. Sheri- 
dan dismounted his men, deployed them as infantry, and con- 
tested the ground, falling back on Dinwiddle Court-House, 
where the battle ended at eight o'clock in the evening. 

Meade ordered McKenzie's division of cavalry to hasten to 
the assistance of Sheridan, and at five o'clock directed Warren 
to push a small force down the White Oak road to communi- 
cate with that officer, and Bartlett's brigade was sent. During 
the night Warren's whole force moved towards Dinwiddle to 
attack Pickett and Johnson in the rear, and at daylight was 
ready for the assault ; but the Rebels had decamped, and were 
once more in position at Five Forks. 

On the morning of the 1st of April, Sheridan, having com- 
mand of the Fifth Corps, as well as the cavalry, moved cau- 
tiously towards Five Forks. The forenoon was passed in re- 
connoitring the position, which was defended by the whole 
of Pickett's division, Wise's independent brigade of infantry, 
Fitz Hugh Lee's, W. H. Lee's, and Ross's divisions of cavalry, 
and Johnson's division of infantry. 

Sheridan's order was to form the whole corps before advan- 
cing, so that all the troops should move simultaneously. 

Following the Fifth Corps, we came to the Gravelly Run 
church, which is about one and a half miles southeast of Five 
Forks. A quarter of a mile northwest of the church is the 
house of Mr. Bass, a landmark for the future historian, for 
there Sheridan's line turned a right angle. Ayers's division of 
the Fifth marching past the church, wheeled on the north side 
of the house and faced west. Crawford's division passed on, 
and came into line north of Ayers's, while Grifiin's stood in 
reserve on the White Oak road, in rear of Ayers's. McKenzie's 
cavalry, which had been some time on the ground, deflected to 
the right and held the ground to Hatcher's Run, which here 
has a course due east. McKenzie, Crawford, Ayers, and Grif- 
fin therefore faced west. Taking the other leg of the angle, 
we find Stagg's division of cavalry nearest the house of Mr. 
Bass, then Gibbs's and Fitzhugh's, Pennington's and Wells's, 
all facing north, and on the extreme left. Coppinger's facing- 
northeast. Fitzhugh's division was directly south of Five 



494 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^pnl. 

Forks. This powerful body of cavalry was all under the com- 
mand of Major-General Merritt. 

The woods were dense, with here and there an opening. 

" Keep the sun shining over your left shoulders," was War- 
ren's order to his troops. The length of his front was about 
one thousand yards, and his divisions were in three lines, — 
numbering about twelve thousand. "While the troops were 
forming he drew a sketch of the enemy's position for each di- 
vision commander, and instructed them to explain it to each 
brigade commander, that there might be no mistake in the 
movement. 

The cavalry, through the afternoon, while Warren was get- 
ting into position, kept up a skirmish fire. 

Sheridan was impatient. The sun was going down and he 
must attack at once or retire. He could not think of doing 
the latter, as it would give Pickett and Johnson time to make 
their intrenchments exceedingly strong. He ordered Merritt 
to make a demonstration. That officer advanced Wells and 
Coppinger against Johnson's extreme right. 

" I am going to strike their left flank with the Fifth Corps, 
and when you hear the musketry, assault all along the line," 
were his instructions to Merritt. 

The Fifth advanced in excellent order, sweeping round Pick- 
ett's left flank, and falling on his rear. For a half-hour there 
was a heavy fire, but the woods being dense the loss was not 
very great. When the order to charge bayonet was given, the 
men rushed forward, leaped over the intrenchments, and cap- 
tured Pickett's front line. Pickett formed a new line, which 
he endeavored to hold against the Fifth. Warren ordered 
Crawford to take them once more in flank, and sent one of 
McKenzie's brigades to aid him. Ayers's and Griffin's divisions 
had become disorganized by the success, but reforming they 
advanced along the White Oak road, but were checked by 
Pickett's new line. Officers were urging the men forward, but 
there was faltering. Warren, accompanied by Captain Ben- 
yaud, rode to the front, and called upon his officers to follow 
his example. Quick the response. Officers of all ranks, from 
generals to subalterns and the color-bearers, sprang forward. 
In an instant the line rallied, and with fixed bayonets leaped 



1865.] THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 495 

upon the enemy and captured the whole force opposing them. 
Warren's horse fell, fatally shot, and an orderly by his side was 
killed, within a few paces of the intrenchment. When Mer- 
ritt heard the roll of musketry he ordered the attack. His 
cavalrymen rode fearlessly through the woods, dashed up to 
the intrenchments, leaped over them and carried the entire 
line along his front in the first grand charge. 

" The enemy," says Sheridan, " were driven from their 
strong line of works, completely routed ; the Fifth Corps 
doubling up their left flank in confusion, and the cavalry of 
General Merritt dashing on to the White Oak road, capturing 
their artillery, turning it upon them, and riding into their 
broken ranks, so demoralized them that they made no serious 
stand after their line was carried, but took flight in dis- 
order."* 

It was now nearly dark, but Merritt and McKenzie followed 
the enemy, who threw away their guns and knapsacks, and 
sought safety in flight, or finding themselves hard pressed, sur- 
rendered. 

Between five and six thousand prisoners and eighteen pieces 
of artillery were captured. The way was open to the South 
Side Railroad. Grant determined to turn the success to quick 
account. " Attack along the whole line," was his message to 
the corps commanders. 

At ten o'clock Saturday evening the cannonade began. All 
the batteries joined, all the forts, the gunboats in the Appo- 
mattox,, the batteries west of Bermuda Hundred, and the mon- 
itors by the Howlet House. There was a continual succession 
of flashes and an unbroken roll of thunder. The Rebels had 
no peace during the night. 

" Send up the provost brigade," was Grant's despatch sent to 
City Point. The Sixty-First Massachusetts, One Hundred 
and Fourteenth New York, and other regiments, and Sheridan's 
dismounted cavalry, were out at daybreak and on the march. 

" Send up the marines to guard the prisoners," was his sec- 
ond despatch, and the blue-jackets from the gunboats, with 
carbines, were sent ashore. The time had come for the mus- 

* Sheridan's Report. 



496 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

tering of every available man. The sailors took cars at City 
Point, and sang all the way to Hatcher's Run, as if they were 
having a lark. 

Lee was in trouble. He sent a ipessage to Long-street, who 
was north of the James, to hurry to Petersburg. Longstreet 
put Ewell in command and hastened across the James, with 
Fields's division. Lee had three bridges, besides those in 
Richmond, — one at Warwick's, another at Knight's farm, and 
the third at Chaffin's Bluff. Longstreet, Lee's ablest general, 
stout, robust, with heavy black whiskers, with his staff, galloped 
across the middle bridge toward Petersburg, leaving his troops 
to follow. 

The Richmond bells were ringing, not the pasan of victory, 
as after some of their successful battles, but for the assembling 
of the militia to man the fortifications from which Longstreet's 
troops were retiring. 

" The beat of the alarming drum 
Roused up the soldier ere the morning star, 
^Vhile thronged the citizens with terror dumb, 
Or -whispering, with white lips, ' The foe ! They come ! they come ! ' " 

Let us look at Lee's lines at midnight, Saturday, April 1st. 
Johnson, Pickett, Wise, and W. H. F. Lee's cavalry are fleeing 
towards the Appomattox, beyond Hatcher's Run ; A. P. Hill is 
holding the line east of the Run ; Gordon occupies the fortifica- 
tions from the Jerusalem road to the Appomattox ; Longstreet 
is hastening down from Richmond ; Ewell is north of the 
James, and the citizens of Richmond are jumping from their beds 
to shoulder muskets for service in the trenches. Lee has 
not yet decided to evacuate Petersburg. He will wait and see 
what a day may bring forth. 

He had not long to wait. Parke, commanding the Ninth 
Corps, during the night, prepared to assault. It was precisely 
four o'clock wlien the divisions leaped from their intrench- 
ments, and with bayonets fixed, without firing a gun, tore away 
the abatis in front of the forts, swarmed over the embankments, 
crawled into the embrasures, and climbed the parapet. It was 
the work of five minutes only, but four forts, mounting between 
twenty and thirty guns, were taken, with seven hundred pris- 
oners. 



1865.] THE LAST CAMPAIGN. 497 

Grant began early on Sunday morning to draw the farther 
end of the net toward Petersburg. Sheridan, with the cavalry 
and two divisions of the Fifth, moved upon Sutherland's Station 
on the South Side Railroad, eleven miles from Petersburg. 
Grant sent him Miles's division of the Second Corps. Wright 
and Ord, east of the run, at nine o'clock assaulted the works 
in their front, and after a severe struggle carried them, captur- 
ing all the guns and several thousand prisoners. 

Humphrey, who was west of the run, now was able to leave 
his position and join Wright and Ord. By noon we see the 
net drawn close. Sheridan at Sutherland's^ with the Fifth 
Corps, then Humphrey, Ord, and Wright ; all swinging to- 
wards the city, taking fort after fort and contracting the lines. 

In the morning I watched the movements on the left, but as 
the line advanced, hastened east in season to see the last at- 
tack on Forts Mahone and Gregg, the two Rebel strongholds 
south of the town. These forts were in rear of the main Rebel 
line, on higher ground. 

The troops, in columns of brigades, moved steadily over the 
field, drove in the Rebel pickets, received the fire of the bat- 
teries without breaking, leaped over the breastworks with a 
huzza, which rang shrill and clear above the cannonade. Ma- 
hone was an embrasured battery of three guns ; Gregg, a strong 
fort with sally-ports, embrasures for six guns, and surrounded 
by a deep ditch. Mahone was carried with a rush, the men 
mounting the escarpment and jumping into it, regardless of 
the fire poured upon them by the Rebels. 

There was a long struggle for the possession of Gregg. Heth 
and Wilcox were there, animating the garrison. The attack- 
ing columns moved in excellent order over the field swept by 
the guns of the fort, and even received the canister without 
staggering. The fort was enveloped in smoke, showing that 
the defence was heroic, as well as the assault. 

The lines move on. The soldiers spring into the ditch and 
climb the embankment. The foremost, as they reach the top, 
roll back upon their comrades. They are lost from sight in 
smoke and flame ; but from the cloud there comes a hurrah, 
and the old flag waves in the sunlight above the stronghold 
which, through all the weary months, has thundered defiance. 

32 



498 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [April, 

Lee's line was broken at the centre, and Petersburg was no 
longer tenable. 

It was inspiriting to stand there, and watch the tide of vic- 
tory rolling up the hill. "With that Sunday's sun the hopes of 
the Rebels set, never to rise again. The C. S. A., — the Con- 
federate Slave Argosy, — freighted with blood and groans and 
tears, the death's-head and cross-bones at her masthead, hailed 
as a rightful belligerent, furnished with guns, ammunition, and 
all needful supplies by sympathetic England and France, was 
a shattered, helpless wreck. 






1865.] EICHMOND. 499 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

EICHMOND. 

There was no longer the semblance of a Confederacy. JeflF 
Davis and Breckenridge were fugitives, without country or 
home. The Rebel army was flying. Richmond was in flames. 
The Rebellion had gone down in a night, — in darkness as it 
originated, and as it ought to die. 

At three o'clock, Monday morning, an explosion took place 
which shook Richmond to its foundations, and made even the 
beds in the hospital at City Point heave as if by an earth- 
quake. It was occasioned by the blowing up of the Rebel iron- 
clads. Semmes was again without a command, for the Rebel 
navy was no more. If not swept from the ocean by Union 
cruisers, as the Alabama was by the Kearsarge, it was crushed^ 
by the ponderous blows of Grant and his victorious legions, 
as the result of his successes in the field. The shock roused 
the army from slumber. The hosts surrounding Petersburg 
needed no other reveille. The soldiers were on their feet in 
an instant, and General Wilcox (commanding the first divis- 
ion of the Ninth Corps) accepted it as a signal to advance. 
He was lying east of the city, his right resting on the Appo- 
mattox. His men sprang forward, but found only deserted 
works. The last body of Rebels — the lingerers who were re- 
maining to plunder the people of Petersburg — took to their 
heels, and the division entered the town without opposition. 

The entire army was in motion. Engineers hurried up with 
pontoons, strung them across the Appomattox, and Grant began 
the pursuit. I entered the town soon after sunrise, and found 
troops pouring in from all quarters, cheering, swinging their 
caps, helping themselves to tobacco, rushing upon the double- 
quick, eager to overtake Lee. 

The colored population thronged the streets, swinging their 
old hats, bowing low, and shouting " Glory ! " " Bless de Lord ! " 



500 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [April, 

" I 's been a praying for dis yere to happen, but did n't 'spect 
it quite so soon." " It is ges like a clap of thunder," said an 
old negro. 

" I 's glad to see you. I 'm been trying and wishing and 
praying dat de Lord would help me get to de Yankees, and 
now dey has come into dis yere city," said another. The 
citizens of the place, also, were in the streets, amazed and 
confounded at what had happened. Provost General Macy, of 
Massachusetts, established a guard to prevent depredations and 
to save the army from demoralization. The Rebels, before 
retreating, destroyed their commissary stores and set all the 
tobacco warehouses on fire. I took a hurried survey of the 
Rebel works in front of Fort Steadman, and found them very 
strong. The ground was honeycombed by the shells which had 
been thrown from the mortars of the Ninth Corps. 

General Grant was early in the town, cool, calm, and evi- 
dently well pleased with the aspect of affairs ; and President 
Lincoln, who was at City Point, visited Petersburg during the 
day. He went up in a special car. The soldiers at Meade 
Station caiight a sight of him, and cheered most heartily. He 
acknowledged the enthusiasm and devotion of the soldiers by 
bowing and thanking them for the glorious achievement of 
their arms. On Friday he looked careworn, but the great vic- 
tory had smoothed the deep wrinkles on his brow. 

Reaching City Point at noon, I was soon in the saddle, 
galloping towards Richmond ; crossing the Appomattox at 
Broadway, riding to Yarina, crossing the James on the pon- 
toons, and approaching the city by the New Market road, 
overtaking a division of the Twenty-Fifth Corps on the out- 
skirts of the city. It was a hard, exhausting ride. Two miles 
out from the city my horse fell, and I found myself turning a 
summersault into the ditch ; without broken bones, however, 
but I was obliged to moderate my speed for the remainder of 
the distance. 

Before entering upon the narrative of my own observa- 
tions, let us take a look at events transpiring in the city on 
Sunday. 

" We are," said the Sentmel of Saturday evening, " very hope- 
ful of the campaign which is opening, and trust that we are to 



1865.] EICHMOND. 501 

reap a large advantage from the operations evidently near at 
hand We have only to resolve that we never will sur- 
render, and it will be impossible that we shall ever be taken." 

" My line is broken in three places, and Richmond must be 
eva'cuated," was Lee's despatch to JefF Davis. The messenger 
found him in Rev. Dr. Mmnegerode's church. He read the 
despatch, hurried to the Executive Mansion, passed up the 
winding stairway to his business apartment, sat down by a 
small table, wrote an order for the removal of the coin in the 
banks to Danville, for the burning of the public documents, 
and for the evacuation of the city. Mrs. Davis had left the 
city several days previous. 

Rev. Dr. Minnegerode, before closing the forenoon service, 
gave notice that General Ewell desired the local forces to assem- 
ble at 3 P. M. There was no evening service. Ministers and 
congregations were otherwise employed. Rev. Mr. Hoge, a 
fierce advocate for slavery as a beneficent institution, packed 
his carpet-bag. Rev. Mr. Duncan was moved to do likewise. 
Mr. Lumpkin, who for many years had kept a slave-trader's 
jail, had a work of necessity on this Lord's day, — the tem- 
poral salvation of fifty men, women, and children ! He made 
up his coffle in the jail-yard, within pistol-shot of Jeff Davis's 
parlor window, and a stone's throw from the Monumental 
Church. The poor creatures were hurried to the Danville 
depot. This sad and weeping fifty, in handcuffs and chains, 
was the last slave coffle that shall tread the soil of America. 

Slavery being the corner-stone of the Confederacy, it was 
fitting that this gang, keeping step to the music of their clank- 
ing chains, should accompany JefF Davis, his secretaries Ben- 
jamin and Trenholm, and the Reverend Messrs. Hoge and 
Duncan, in their flight. The whole Rebel government was 
on the move, and all Richmond desired to be. No thoughts 
now of taking Washington, or of the flag of the Confederacy 
flaunting in the breeze from the dome of the' national Capitol ! 
Hundreds of officials were at the depot, waiting to get away 
from the doomed city. Public documents, the archives of the 
Confederacy, were hastily gathered up, tumbled into boxes and 
barrels, and taken to the trains, or carried into the streets and 
set on fire. Coaches, carriages, wagons, carts, wheelbarrows. 



502 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^prilj 

everything in the shape of a vehicle, was pressed into use. 
There was a jumble of boxes, chests, trunks, valises, carpet- 
bags, — ■• a crowd of excited men sweating as never before : wo- 
men with dishevelled hair, unmindful of their wardrobes, 
wringing their hands, children crying in the crowd, sentinels 
guarding each entrance to the train, pushing back at the point 
of the bayonet the panic-stricken multitude, giving precedence 
to Davis and the high officials, and informing Mr. Lumpkin 
that his niggers could not be taken. 0, what a loss was there ! 
It would have been fifty thousand dollars out of somebody's 
pocket in 1861, and millions now of Confederate promises to 
pay, which the hurrying multitude and that chained slave gang 
were treading under foot, — trampling the bonds of the Con- 
federate States of America in the mire, as they marched to the 
station ; for the oozy streets were as thickly strewn with four 
per cents, six per cents, eight per cents, as forest streams with 
autumn leaves. 

" The faith of the Confederate States is pledged to provide 
and establish sufficient .revenues for the regular payment of 
the interest, and for the redemption of the principal," read 
the bonds ; but there was a sudden eclipse of faith, a collapse 
of confidence, a shrivelling up like a parched scroll of the 
entire Confederacy, which was a base counterfeit of the Ameri- 
can Union it sought to overturn and supplant, now an exploded 
concern, and wound up by Grant's orders, its bonds, notes, and 
certificates of indebtedness worth less than the paper on which 
they were printed. 

Soon after dark the commissaries, having loaded all the 
army wagons with supplies, began the destruction of what they 
could not carry away. In the medical purveyor's department 
were several hundred barrels of whiskey, which were rolled into 
the street and stove in by soldiers with axes. As the liquor 
ran down the gutter, officers and soldiers filled their flasks 
and canteens, while those who had no canteen threw them- 
selves upon the ground and drank from the fiery stream. The 
rabble with pitchers, basins, dipped it up and drank as if it 
were the wine of life. The liquor soon began to show its effects. 
The crowd became a mob, and rushed upon the stores and 
government warehouses. The soldiers on guard at first kept 



il864.] RICHMOND. 503 

them at bay, but as the darkness deepened the whiskey-mad- 
dened crowd became more furious. By midnight there was a 
grand saturnalia. The flour in the government stores was seized. 
Men were seen rolling hogsheads of bacon through the streets. 
Women filled their aprons with meal, their arms with candles. 
Later in the night the floating debris of the army reached the 
city, — the teamsters, servants, ambulance-drivers, with strag- 
glers from the ranks, who pillaged the stores. First attack- 
ing the clothing, boot, and hat stores, then the jewellers' shops 
and the saloons, and lastly the dry-goods establishments. Costly 
panes of glass were shivered by the butts of their muskets, and 
the reckless crowd poured in to seize whatever for the moment 
pleased their fancy, to be thrown aside the next instant for 
something more attractive. 

" As I passed the old market-house," writes a Rebel soldier, 
" I met a tall fellow with both arms full of sticks of candy, 
dropping part of his sweet burden at every step." 

" Stranger," said he, " have you got a sweet tooth ? " 

" I told Mm that I did not object to candy." 

" Then go up to Antoni's and get your belly full, and all for 
nothing." 

" A citizen passed me with an armful of hats and caps. ' It 
is every man for himself and the Devil for us all to-night,' he 
said, as he rushed past me." * 

The train which bore Jefl" Davis from the city left at eight 
o'clock in the evening. He took his horses and coach on board 
for a flight across the country, in case Sheridan stopped the 
cars. He was greatly depressed in spirits, and his counte- 
nance was haggard and care-worn. At the station there was a 
crowd of men who had fawned upon him, — office-holders, 
legislators, and public-spirited citizens who had made great 
sacrifices for the Rebellion, — who, now that they wished to 
obtain standing room upon the train, found themselves rudely 
thrust aside by the orders of the President. They were of no 
more account than the rest of the excited populace that knew 
Davis but to execrate him. 

In the Sabbath evening twilight, the train, with the fugitive 

* A Kebel Courier's Experience. 



504 FOtJR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April j 

government, its stolen bullion, and its Doctors of Divinity on 
board, moved out from the city. 

At the same hour the Governor of Virginia, William Smith, 
and the Legislature, embarked in a canal-boat, on the James 
River and Kanawha Canal, for Lynchburg. On all the roads 
were men, women, and children, in carriages of every descrip- 
tion, with multitudes on horseback and on foot, flying from 
the Rebel capital. Men who could not get away were secretly 
at work, during those night-hours, burying plate and money in 
gardens ; ladies secreted their jewels, barred and bolted their 
doors, and passed a sleepless night, fearful of the morrow, 
which would bring in the despised " Vandal horde of Yankee 
ruffians " ; for such were the epithets they had persistently ap- 
plied to the soldiers of the Union throughout the war. 

But the government was not quite through with its opera- 
tions in Richmond. General Ewell remained till daylight on 
Monday morning to clear up things, — not to burn public 
archives in order to destroy evidence of Confederate villany, 
but to add to the crime already committed another so atrocious 
that the stanchest friends of the Confederacy recoiled with hor- 
ror even from its contemplation. 

It was past midnight when the Mayor learned that Ewell 
had issued orders for firing the government buildings and the 
tobacco warehouses. He sent a deputation of prominent citi- 
zens to remonstrate. They were referred to Major Melton, who 
was to apply the torch. 

" It is a cowardly pretext on the part of the citizens, trumped 
up to save their property for the Yankees," said he. 

The committee endeavored to dissuade him from the act. 

" I shall execute my orders," said he. 

They went to General Ewell, who with an oath informed 
them that the torch would be applied at daylight. Brecken- 
ridge was there, who said that it would be a disgrace to the 
Confederate government to endanger the destruction of the 
entire city. He was Secretary of War, and could have coun- 
termanded the order. Will not history hold him accountable ? 

To prevent the United States from obtaining possession of a 
few thousand hogsheads of tobacco, a thousand houses were 
destroyed by fire, the heart of the city burnt out, — all of the 



1865.] EICHMOND. 505 

business portion, all the banks and insurance-offices, half of 
the newspapers, with mills, depots, bridges, founderies, work- 
shops, dwellings, churches, — thirty squares in all, swept clean 
by the devouring flames. It was the final work of the Confed- 
erate government. Inaugurated in heat and passion, carried 
on by hate and prejudice, its end was but in keeping with its 
career, — the total disregard of the rights of person and prop- 
erty. 

In the outskirts of the city, on the Mechanicsville road, was 
the almshouse, filled with the lame, the blind, the halt, poor, 
sick, bed-ridden creatures. Ten rods distant was a magazine 
containing fifteen or twenty kegs of powder, which might have 
been rolled into the creek near at hand, and was of little value 
to a \ictorious army with full supplies of ammunition ; but the 
order of Jeff Davis to blow up the magazines was peremptory 
and must be executed. 

" We give you fifteen minutes to get out of the way," was 
the sole notice to that crowd of helpless beings lying in their 
cots, at three o'clock in the morning. Men and women begged 
for mercy ; but their cries were in vain. The officer in charge 
of the matter was inexorable. Clotheless and shoeless, the in- 
mates ran in terror from the spot to seek shelter in the ravines ; 
but those who could not run while the train to fire it was being 
laid, rent the air with shrieks of agony. The match was ap- 
plied at the time. The concussion crushed in the broad side 
of the house as if it had been pasteboard. Windows flew into 
flinders. Bricks, stones, timbers, beams, and boards were 
whirled through the air. Trees were twisted off like withes in 
the hands of a giant. The city was wrenched and rocked as by 
a volcanic convulsion. The dozen poor wretches whose infirmi- 
ties prevented their leaving the house were horribly mangled ; 
and when the fugitives who had sought shelter in the fields re- 
turned to the ruins they found only the bruised and blackened 
remains of their fellow-inmates. 

Let us take a parting glance at the Rebel army as it leaves 
the city. 

The day is brightening in the east. The long line of bag- 
gage-wagons and the artillery has been rumbling over the 
bridges all night. The railroad trains have been busy in con- 



506 FOUE YEAES OF FIGHTING. [^pi"il) 

veying the persons and property of both the government and 
the people ; but the last has departed, and still a disappointed 
crowd is left at the depot. The roads leading west are filled 
with fugitives in all sorts of vehicles, and on horseback and on 
foot. 

Men are rolling barrels of tar and turpentine upon the 
bridges. Guards stand upon the Manchester side to prevent 
the return of any soldier belonging to Richmond. Custis 
Lee's division has crossed, and Kershaw's division, mainly of 
South Carolinians, follows. The troops march silently; they 
are depressed in spirit. The rabble of Manchester have found 
out what fine times their friends in Richmond are having, and 
old women and girls are streaming across the bridges laden with 
plunder, — webs of cloth, blankets, overcoats, and food from 
the government storehouses. The war-worn soldiers, ragged 
and barefoot, behold it, and utter curses against the Confeder- 
ate government for having deprived them of clothing and food. 

General Ewell crosses the bridge, riding an iron-gray horse. 
He wears an old faded cloak and slouch hat. He is brutal 
and profane, mingling oaths with his orders. Following him is 
John Cabel Breckenridge, the long, black, glossy hair of other 
days changed to gray, his high, broad forehead wrinked and 
furrowed. He is in plain black, with a talma thrown over his 
shoulders. He talks with Ewell, and gazes upon the scene. 
Suddenly a broad flash of light leaps up beyond the city, accom- 
panied with a dull, heavy roar, and he sees the air filled with 
flying timbers of the hospital, whose inmates, almost without 
warning, and without cause or crime, are blown into eternity. 

The last division has crossed the river. The sun is up. A 
match is touched to the" turpentine spread along the timbers, 
and the bridges are in flames ; also the tobacco warehouses, the 
flouring-mills, the arsenals, and laboratory. The Rebel troops 
behold the conflagration as they wind along the roads and 
through the green fields towards the southwest, and memory 
brings back the scenes of their earlier rejoicing. It is the 2d 
of April, four years lacking two weeks since the drunken 
carousal over the passage of the ordinance of Secession. 

It was a little past four o'clock when Major A. H. Stevens 
of the Fourth Massachusetts cavalry, and Provost Marshal of 



1865.] ' RICHMOND. 507 

the Twenty-Fifth Army Corps, with detachments from compa- 
nies E and H, started upon a reconnoissance of the enemy's 
intrenchments. He found them evacuated and the guns 
spiked. A deserter piloted the detachment safely over the tor- 
pedoes which had been planted in front of them. A mile and 
a half out from the city, Major Stevens met a barouche and 
five men mounted bearing a white flag. The party consisted 
of the Mayor, Judge Meredith of the Confederate States Court, 
and other gentlemen, who tendered the surrender of the city. 
He went into the city and was received with joy by the col- 
ored people, who shouted their thanks to the Lord that the 
Yankees had come. He proceeded to the Capitol, ascended 
the roof, pulled down the State flag which was flying, and raised 
the guidons of the two companies upon the building. 

The flames were spreading, and the people, horror-struck and 
stupefied by the events of the night, were powerless to arrest 
them. On, on, from dwelling to warehouse, from store to hotel, 
from hotel to banks, to the newspaper ofiices, to churches, all 
along Main Street from near the Spottswood Hotel to the 
eastern end of the town; then back to the river, to the bridges 
across the James, up to the large stone fire-proof building, 
erected by the United States for a post-ofiice, full of Confed- 
erate shinplasters, around this, on both sides of it, up to Cap- 
itol Square, the flames roared and leaped and crackled, con- 
suming all the business part of the city. In the arsenal were 
several thousand shells, which exploded at intervals, throwing 
fragments of iron, burning timbers, and blazing brands and 
cinders over the surrounding buildings, and driving the people 
from their homes. 

Major Stevens ordered the fire-engines into position, posted 
his soldiers to preserve order, and called upon the citizens to 
work the engines, and did what he could to stop the progress 
of the devouring element. 

General Weitzel triumphantly entered the city at eight 
o'clock, the colored soldiers singing the John Brown song. 
With even ranks and steady step, colors waving, drums beat- 
ing, bands playing, the columns passed up the streets, flanked 
with fire, to the Capitol. Then stacking their guns, and laying 
aside their knapsacks, they sprang to the engines, or mounted 



508 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. ' [April, 

the roofs and poured in buckets of water, or tore down build- 
ings, to stop the ravages of the fire kindled by the departing 
Rebels, — emulating the noble example of their comrades in 
arms at Charleston ; like them manifesting no vindictiveness 
of spirit, but forgetting self in their devotion to duty, forget- 
ting wrong and insult and outrage in their desire to serve their 
oppressors in their hour of extremity. 

The business portion was a sea of flame when I entered the 
city in the afternoon. I tried to pass through Main Street, 
but on both sides the fire was roaring and walls were tumbling. 
I turned into a side street, rode up to the Capitol, and then to 
the Spottswood Hotel. Dr. Reed's church in front was in 
flames. On the three sides of the hotel the fire had been 
raging, but was now subdued, and there was a fair prospect 
that it would be saved. 

" Can you accommodate me with a room ? " 

" I reckon we can, sir, but like enough you will be burnt out 
before morning. You can have any room you choose. No- 
body here," 

I registered my name on a page which bore the names of a 
score of Rebel officers who had left in the morning, and took a 
room on the first floor, from which I could easily spring to the 
ground in case the hotel should be again endangered by the fire. 

Throwing up the sash I looked out upon the scene. There 
were swaying chimneys, tottering walls, streets impassable from 
piles of brick, stones, and rubbish. Capitol Square was filled 
with furniture, beds, clothing, crockery, chairs, tables, looking- 
glasses. Women were weeping, children crying. Men stood 
speechless, haggard, wobegone, gazing at the desolation. 

In Charleston the streets echoed only to the sound of my 
own footsteps or the snarling of hungry curs. There I walked 
through weeds, and trod upon flowers in the grassy streets ; 
but in Richmond I waded through Confederate promises to 
pay, public documents, and broken furniture and crockery. 

Granite columns, iron pillars, marble fa9ades, broken into 
thousands of pieces, blocked the streets. The Bank of Rich- 
mond, Bank of the Commonwealth, Traders' Bank, Bank of 
Virginia, Farmers' Bank, a score of private banking-houses, 
the American Hotel, the Columbian Hotel, the Enquirer and 



1865.] RICHMOND. 509 

the Dispatch printing-offices, the Confederate Post-Office De- 
partment, the State Court-House, the Mechanics' Institute, all 
the insurance offices, the Confederate "War Department, the 
Confederate Arsenal, the Laboratory, Dr. Reed's' church, sev- 
eral founderies and machine-shops, the Henrico County Court- 
House, the Danville and the Petersburg depots, the three 
bridges across the James, the great flourmg-mills, and all the 
best stores of the city, were destroyed. 

Soldiers from General Devens's command were on the roof 
of the Capitol, Governor's house, and other buildings, ready to 
extinguish the flames. The Capitol several times caught fire 
from cinders. 

" If it had not been for the soldiers the whole city would 
have gone," said a citizen. 

The colored soldiers in Capitol Square were dividing their 
rations with the houseless women and children, giving them 
hot coffee, sweetened with sugar, — such as they had not tasted 
for many months. There were ludicrous scenes. One negro 
had three Dutch-ovens on his head, piled one above another, 
a stew-pan in one hand and a skillet in the other. Women had 
bags of flour in their arms, baskets of salt and pails of molas- 
ses, or sides of bacon. No miser ever gloated over his gold so 
eagerly as they over their supply of provisions. They had all 
but starved, but now they could eat till satisfied. 

How stirring the events of that day ! Lee retreating, Grant 
pursuing ; Davis a fugitive ; the Governor and Legislature of 
Virginia seeking safety in a canal-boat ; Doctors of Divinity 
fleeing from the wrath they feared ; the troops of the Union 
marching up the streets ; the old flag waving over the Capitol ; 
Rebel iron-clads blowing up ; Richmond on fire ; the billows 
rolling from square to square, unopposed in their progress by 
the bewildered crowd ; and the Northern Vandals laying down 
their arms, not to the enemy in the field, but the better to battle 
with a foe not more relentless, but less controllable with the 
weapons of war. Weird the scenes of that strange, eventful 
night, — the glimmering flames, the clouds of smoke hanging 
like a funeral pall above the ruins, the crowd of homeless crea- 
tures wandering the streets. 

" Such resting found the soles of unblest feet ! " 



510 FOUE YEAES OF FIGHTING. [-^^prilj 

In the morning I visited the Capitol building, which, like the 
Confederacy, had become exceedingly dilapidated, the windows 
broken, the carpets faded, the paint dingy. 

General Weitzel was in the Senate Chamber issuing his 
orders ; also General Shepley, Military Governor, and General 
Devens. 

The door opened, and a smooth-faced man, with a keen eye, 
firm, quick, resolute step, entered. He wore a plain blue blouse 
with three stars on the collar. It was the hero who opened 
the way to New Orleans, and who fought the battle of the 
Mobile forts from the mast-head of his vessel, — Admiral Far- 
ragut. He was accompanied by General Gordon of Massachu- 
setts, commanding the Department of Norfolk. They heard 
the news Monday noon, and made all haste up the James, 
landing at Varina and taking horses to the city. It was a 
pleasure to take the brave Admiral's hand, and answer his 
eager questions as to what Grant had done. Being latest 
of all present from Petersburg, I could give him the desired 
information. " Thank God, it is about over," said he of the 
Rebellion. 

It was a little past noon when I walked down to the river 
bank to view the desolation. While there I saw a boat pulled 
by twelve rowers coming up stream, containing President Lin- 
coln and his little son. Admiral Porter, and three officers. 
Forty or fifty freedmen — sole possessors of themselves for 
twenty-four hours — were at work on the bank of the canal, 
under the direction of a lieutenant, securing some floating 
timber ; they crowded round the President, forgetting work in 
their wild joy at beholding the face of the author of the great 
Emancipation Proclamation. As he approached I said to a 
colored woman, — 

" There is the man who made you free." 

" What, massa ? " 

" That is President Lincoln." 

" Dat President Linkum ? " 

" Yes." 

She gazed at him a moment in amazement, joy, rapture, as 
if in supernal presence, then clapped her hands, jumped and 
shouted, " Glory ! glory ! glory ! " 



1865.] RICHMOND. 611 

" God bless you, Sah ! " said one, taking off his cap and 
bowing very low. 

" Hurrah ! hurrah ! President Linkum hab come ! Presi- 
dent Linkum hab come ! " rang through the street. 

The lieutenant found himself without men. What cared 
those freedmen, fresh from the house of bondage, for floating 
timber or military commands ? Their deliverer had come, — 
he who, nest to the Lord Jesus, was their best friend ! It was 
not a hurrah that they gave so much as a wild, jubilant cry of 
inexpressible joy. 

They pressed round the President, ran ahead, and hovered 
upon the flanks and rear of the little company. Men, women, 
and children joined the constantly increasing throng. They 
came from all the streets, running in breathless haste, shout- 
ing and hallooing, and dancing with delight. The men threw 
up their hats, the women waved their bonnets and handker- 
chiefs, clapped their hands, and shouted, " Glory to God ! 
glory! glory! glory! " — rendering all the praise to God, who 
had given them freedom, after long years of weary waiting, and 
had permitted them thus unexpectedly to meet their great 
benefactor. 

" I thank you, dear Jesus, that I behold President Linkum ! " 
was the exclamation of a woman who stood upon the thresh- 
old of her humble home, and with streaming eyes and clasped 
hands, gave thanks aloud to the Saviour of men. 

Another, more demonstrative, was jumping and swinging 
her arms, crying, " Bless de Lord ! Bless de Lord ! Bless de 
Lord ! " as if there could be no end of her thankfulness. 

No carriage was to be had, so the President, leading his 
son, walked to General Weitzel's head-quarters, — Jeff Davis's 
mansion. Six sailors, wearing their round blue caps and short 
jackets and baggy pants, with navy carbines, formed the guard. 
Next came the President and Admiral Porter, flanked by the 
oflficers accompanying him, and the writer, then six more sail- 
ors with carbines, — twenty of us in all. 

The walk was long, and the President halted a moment to 
rest. " May de good Lord bless you. President Linkum ! " said 
an old negro, removing his hat and bowing, with tears of joy 
rolling down his cheeks. The President removed his own hat, 



-^ 



512 rOUK YEAES OF FIGHTING. [^prilj 

and bowed in silence : it was a bow which upset the forms, 
laws, customs, and ceremonies of centuries of slavery. It was 
a death-shock to chivalry, and a mortal wound to caste. Rec- 
ognize a nigger ! Disgusting. A woman in an adjoining house 
beheld it, and turned from the scene with unspeakable con- 
tempt. There were men in the surging mass who looked dag- 
gers from their eyes, and felt murder in their hearts, if they 
did not breathe it from their lips. But the hour of sacrifice 
had not yet come ; the chosen assassin was not there ; the 
crowning work of treason and traitors yet remained to be per- 
formed. Not the capital of the defunct slave Confederacy, but 
of the restored nation, was to be the scene of the last brutal 
act in the tragedy of horrors perpetrated in the name of Chris- 
tianity. The great-hearted, noble-minded, wise-headed man, 
whom Providence had placed in the Executive chair to carry 
successfully through the bloody war of freedom against slavery 
to its glorious consummation, passed on to the mansion from 
whence the usurping President had fled. 

When the soldiers saw him amid the noisy crowd they 
cheered lustily. It was an unexpected ovation. Such a wel- 
come, such homage, true, heartfelt, deep, impassioned, no 
prince or prelate ever received. 

The streets becoming impassable on account of the increas- 
ing multitude, soldiers were summoned to clear the way. How 
strange the event ! The President of the United States — he 
who had been hated, despised, maligned above all other men 
living by the people of Richmond — was walking its streets, 
receiving every evidence of love and honor ! How bitter the 
reflections of that moment to some who beheld him, who re- 
membered, perhaps, that day in May, 1861, when Jefferson 
Davis entered the city, — the pageant of that hour, his speech, 
his promise to smite the smiter, to drench the fields of Virginia 
with richer blood than that shed at Buena Vista ! How that 
part of the promise had been kept ; how their sons, brothers, 
and friends had fallen ; how all else predicted had failed ; how 
the land had been filled with mourning ; how the State had 
become a desolation ; how their property, wealth, had disap- 
peared ! They had been invited to a gorgeous banquet ; the 
fruit was fair to the eye, golden and beautiful, but it had 



1865.] EICHMOND. 513 

turned to ashes. They had been promised a high place among 
the nations. Cotton was the king of kings ; and England, 
France, and the whole civilized world would bow in humble 
submission to his majesty. That was the promise ; but now 
their king was dethroned, their government overthrown, their 
President and his cabinet vagrants. They had been promised 
affluence, Richmond was to be the metropolis of the Confeder- 
acy, and Virginia the all-powerful State of the new nation. 
How terrible the cheat ! Their thousand-dollar bonds were 
not worth a penny. A million dollars would not purchase a 
dinner. Their money was valueless, their slaves were freemen, 
the heart of their city was in ashes. They had been deluded 
in everything. Those whom they had most trusted had most 
abused their confidence ; and at last, in the most unfeeling and 
inhuman manner, had fired their dwellings, destroying property 
they could no longer use or levy upon, thus adding arson and 
robbery to the already long list of their crimes. 

The people of Richmond were in despair, having no means for 
present subsistence, or to rebuild or commence business again. 
All their heroism, hardship, sufiering, expenditure of treasure, 
and sacrifice of blood had availed them nothing. There could 
be no comfort in their mourning, no alleviation to their sorrow. 
All had been lost in an unrighteous cause, which God had not 
prospered, and no satisfaction could be derived from their par- 
ticipation in it. For try to deceive themselves as they might 
into a belief that the conflict was unavoidable by the encroach- 
ments of the North upon the South, they could but remember 
the security and peace they enjoyed in the Union, little of 
which they had felt or dared hope for in their Utopion scheme 
of slavery. 

At length we reached the house from which Jeff Davis had 
so recently departed, where General Weitzel had established 
his head-quarters. The President entered and sat wearily down 
in an arm-chair which stood in the fugitive President's recep- 
tion-room. General Weitzel introduced the officers present. 
Judge Campbell entered. At the beginning of the war he was 
on the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States, after- 
wards espoused Secession, and was appointed assistant Secre- 
tary of War under Seddon. He was tall, and looked pale, 

33 



514 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^pril, 

care-worn, agitated, and bowed very low to the President, who 
received him with dignity, and yet cordially. 

President Lincoln, accompanied by Admiral Porter, General 
Weitzel, and General Shepley, rode through the city, escorted 
by a squadron of cavalry, followed by thousands of colored 
people, shouting " Glory to God ! " They had seen great hard- 
ship and suffering. A few were well dressed. Some wore 
pants of Union blue and coats of Confederate gray. Others 
were in rags. The President was much affected as they 
crowded around the carriage to touch his hands, and pour out 
their thanks. "They that walked in darkness had seen a great 
light." Their great deliverer was among them. He came not 
as a conqueror, not as the head of a mighty nation, — 

•' Not with the roll of the stirring drum, 
Nor the trumpet that sings of fame," — 

but as a plain, unpretending American citizen, a representative 
republican Chief Magistrate, unheralded, almost unattended, 
with " malice towards none, with charity for all," as he had 
but a few weeks previously proclaimed from the steps of the 
Capitol at Washington. 

He visited Libby prison, breathed for a moment its fetid air, 
gazed upon the iron-grated windows and the reeking filth upon 
the slippery floors, and gave way to uncontrollable emotions. 

Libby Prison ! What horrors it recalls ! What sighs and 
groans ! What prayers and tears ! What dying out of hope ! 
What wasting away of body and mind ! What nights of dark- 
ness settling on human souls ! Its door an entrance to a living 
charnel-house, its iron-barred windows but the outlook of hell ! 
It was the Inferno of the slave Confederacy. Well might have 
been written over its portal, " All hope abandon, ye who enter 
here." 

Visiting the prison the next morning, I found it occupied by 
several hundred Rebels, who were peering from the grated 
windows, looking sadly upon the desolation around them. A 
large number were upon the roof, breathing the fresh air, and 
gazing upon the fields beyond the James, now green with the 
verdure of spring. Such liberty was never granted Union pris- 
oners. Whoever approached the prison bars, or laid his hand 
upon them, became the victim of a Rebel bullet. 



1865.] EICHMOND. 515 

There was a crowd of women with pails and buckets at the 
windows, giving the prisoners provisions and talking freely 
with their friends, who came not only to the windows, but to 
the door, where the good-natured sentinel allowed conversation 
without restraint. 

The officer in charge conducted our party through the wards. 
The air was saturated with vile odors, arising from the un- 
washed crowd, — from old rags and dirty garments, from 
puddles of filthy- water which dripped through the floor, ran 
down the walls, sickening to all the senses. From this prison 
fifteen hundred men were hurried to the flag-of-truce boat on 
Sunday, that they might be exchanged before the evacuation 
of the city. Many thousands had lived there month after 
month, wasting away, starving, dying of fever, of consumption, 
of all diseases known to medical science, — from insanity, de- 
spair, idiocy, — having no communication with the outer world, 
no food from friends, no sympathy, no compassion, — tortured 
to death through rigor of imprisonment, by men whose hearts 
grew harder from day to day by the brutality they practised. 

" Please give me a bit of bread. Aunty, I am starving," was 
the plea one day of a young soldier who saw a negro woman 
passing the window. He thrust his emaciated hand between 
the bars and clutched the bit which she cheerfully gave him ; 
but before it had passed between his teeth he saw the brains 
of his benefactress spattered upon the sidewalk by the sentinel ! 

Although the city was in possession of the Union forces, 
there were many residents who believed that Lee would re- 
trieve the disaster. 

" I was sorry," said a citizen, " to see the Stars and Stripes 
torn down in 1861. It is the prettiest flag in the world, but 1 
shed tears when I saw it raised over the Capitol of Virginia on 
Sunday morning." 

" Why so ? " I asked. 

" Because it was done without the consent of the State of 
Virginia." 

" Then you still cling to the idea that a State is more than 
the nation." 

" Yes ; State rights above everything." 

" Don't you think the war is almost over, — that it is useless 
for Lee to contend further ? " 



616 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTrNG, [-^pi'il) 

" No. He will fight another battle, and he will win. He 
can fight for twenty-five years in the mountains ? " 

" Do you think that men can live in the mountains ? " 

" Yes ; on roots and herbs, and fight you till you are weary 
of it, and whip you out." 

A friend called upon one of the most aristocratic families of 
the place. He found that men and women alike were exceed- 
ingly bitter and defiant. They never would yield. They would 
fight through a generation, and defeat the Yankees at last. 

They were proud of the Old Dominion, the mother of States 
and of Presidents, proud of their ancestry, of the chivalry of 
Virginia, and gave free expression to their hatred. 

Having heard that a brigade of colored troops had been 
enlisted in Richmond for the Rebel army, I made inquiries 
to ascertain the facts. All through the war the Rebel author- 
ities had engaged a large number of slaves as teamsters and 
laborers. The immense fortifications thrown up around Rich- 
mond, Yorktown, Petersburg, Wilmington, Charleston, and 
Savannah were the work of slaves. The Rebels said that 
slavery, instead of being a weakness, was an element of strength. 
Slaves built the fortifications and raised the corn and wheat, 
which enabled the Confederacy to send all of its white fighting 
population to the field. But the fighting material was used 
up. Men were wanted. An unsparing conscription failed to 
fill up the ranks. Then came the agitation of the question of 
employing negro soldiers. 

General Lee advocated the m':'asure. " They possess," said 
he, " all the physical qualifications, and their habits of obedi- 
ence constitute a good foundation for discipline. I think those 
who are employed should be freed. It would neither be just 
nor wise, in my opinion, to require them to serve as slaves. 
The best course to pursue, it seems to me, would be to call for 
such as are willing to come, — willing to come, with the con- 
sent of their owners. An impressment or draft would not be 
likely to bring out the best class, and the use of coercion would 
make the measure distasteful to them and to their owners." 

The subject was debated in secret session in Congress, and 
a bill enacted authorizing their employment. 

A great meeting was held in the African church to " fire the 



1865.] RICHMOND. 517 

Southern heart," and speeches were made. A recruiting-office 
was opened. The newspapers spoke of the success of the 
movement. Regiments were organizing. 

" I fear there will soon be a great scarcity of arms when the 
negroes are drilled," wrote the Rebel war clerk in his diary on 
the 11th of March ; and five days later, on the 17th, " We shall 
have a negro army. Letters are pouring into the department 
from men of military skill and character, asking authority to 
raise companies, battalions, and regiments of negro troops. It, 
is the desperate remedy for the very desperate case, and may 
be successful. If three hundred thousand efficient soldiers can 
be made of this material, there is no conjecturing when the 
next campaign may end." 

A week later the colored troops had a parade in Capitol 
Square. There were so few, that the war clerk said it was 
" rather a ridiculous affair." 

" How many colored men enlisted ? " I asked of a negro. 

" 'Bout fifty, I reckon, sir. Dey was mostly poor Souf Car- 
olina darkies, — poor heathen fellers, who didn't know no 
better." 

" Would you have fought against the Yankees ? " 

" No, sir. Dey might have shot me through de body wid 
ninety thousand balls, before I would have fired a gun at my 
friends." 

" Then you look upon, us as your friends ? " 

" Yes, sir. I have prayed for you to come ; and do you 
think that I would have prayed one way and fit de other ? " 

" I '11 tell you, massa, what I would have done," said an- 
other, taking off his hat and bowing : " I would have taken de 
gun, and when I cotched a chance I 'd a shooted it at de Rebs 
and den run for de Yankees." 

This brought a general explosion from the crowd, and ar- 
rested the attention of some white men passing. 

We were in the street west of the Capitol. I had but to 
raise my eyes to see the Stars and Stripes waving in the even- 
ing breeze. A few paces distant were the ruins of the Rebel 
War Department, from whence were issued the orders to starve 
our prisoners at Belle Isle, Salisbury, and Anderson ville. 
Not far were the walls of Dr. Reed's church, where a specious 



518 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

Gospel had been preached, and near by was the church of Dr. 
Mmnegerode. The street was full of people. I was a stranger 
to them all, but I ventured to make this inquiry, — 

" Did you ever see an Abolitionist ? " 

" No, massa, I reckon I neber did," was the reply. 

" What kind of people do you think they are ? " 

" Well, massa, I specs dey is a good kind of people." 

" Why do you think so ? " 

" 'Case when I hear bad white folks swearing and cursing 
about 'em, I reckon dar must be something good about 'em." 

" Well, my friends, I am an Abolitionist ; I believe that all 
men have equal rights, and that I have no more right to make 
a slave of you than you have of me." 

Every hat came off in an instant. Hands were reached out 
toward me, and I heard from a dozen tongues a hearty " God 
bless you, sir ! " 

White men heard me and scowled. Had I uttered those words 
in Richmond twenty-four hours earlier I should have had no 
opportunity to repeat them, but paid for my temerity with a 
halter or a knife ; but now those men who stretched out their 
hands to me would have given the last drop of their blood be- 
fore they would have seen a hair of my head injured, after that 
declaration. 

The slaves were the true loyal men of the South. They did 
what they could to help put down the Rebellion by aiding Union 
prisoners to escape, by giving trustworthy information. The 
Stars and Stripes was their banner of hope. What a life they 
led ! I met a young colored man, with features more Anglo- 
Saxon than African, who asked, — 

" Do you think, sir, that I could obtain employment in the 
North ? " 

" What can you do ? " 

" Well, sir, I have been an assistant in a drug store. I can 
put up prescriptions. I paid forty dollars a month for my time 
before the Confederate money became worthless, but my master 
thought that I was going to run away to the Yankees, and sold 
me awhile ago ; and he was my own father, sir." 

" Your own father ? " 

" Yes, sir ! They often sell their own flesh and blood, sir ! " 



1865.] RICHMOND. 519 

Among the correspondents accompanying the army was a 
gentleman connected with the Philadelpliia Press, Mr. Chester, 
tall, stout, and muscular. God had given him a colored skin, 
but beneath it lay a courageous heart. Visiting the Capitol, he 
entered the Senate chamber and sat down in the Speaker's 
chair to write a letter. A paroled Rebel officer entered the 
room. 

" Come out of there, you black .cuss ! " shouted the officer, 
clenching his fist. 

Mr. Chester raised his eyes, calmly surveyed the intruder, 
and went on with his writing. 

" Get out of there, or I '11 knock your brains out ! " the offi- 
cer bellowed, pouring out a torrent of oaths ; and rushing up 
the steps to execute his threat, found himself tumbling over 
chairs and benches, knocked down by one well-planted blow 
between his eyes, 

Mr. Chester sat down as if nothing had happened. The 
Rebel sprang to his feet and called upon Captain Hutchins of 
General Devens's staff for a sword. 

" I '11 cut the fellow's heart out," said he. 

" no, I guess nol^. I can't let you have my sword for any 
such purpose. If you want to fight, I will clear a space here, 
and see that you have fair play, but let me tell you that you 
will get a tremendous thrashing," said Captain Hutchins. 

The officer left the hall in disgust. " I thought I would ex- 
ercise my rights as a belligerent," said Mr. Chester. 

I ascended the steps of the Capitol and stood on the roof of 
the building to gaze upon the panorama, hardly surpassed in 
beauty anywhere, — a lovely combination of city, country, val- 
ley, hill, plain, field, forest, and foaming river. The events of 
four years came to remembrance. First, the secession of the* 
State on the 17th of April, 1861, by the convention which sat 
with closed doors in the hall below, the threats of violence ut- 
tered against the Union delegates from the western counties, 
the wild tumult of the " People's Convention," so called, in 
Metropolitan Hall, — a body of Jacobins assembling to brow- 
beat the convention in the Capitol ; and when the ordinance 
was passed, the appearance of John Tyler, once President of 
the United States, with Governor Wise, among the fire-eaters, 



520 FOUR YEAES OF FIGHTING. [April, 

welcomed with noisy cheers ; it seemed as if I could hear the 
voice of Tyler as he said that Virginia and the people of the 
South had submitted to aggression till secession was a duty, 
and that the Almighty would smile upon the work of that day. 
They were the words of a feeble old man, whose every official 
act was in the interest of slavery. Vehement the words of 
"Wise, who imagined that the Yankees had seized one of his 
children as a hostage for himself. 

" If they suppose," said he, " that hostages of my own heart's 
blood will stay my hand in a contest for the maintenance of 
sacred rights, they are mistaken. Affection for kindred, prop- 
erty, and life itself sink into insignificance in comparison 'with 
the overwhelming importance of public duty in such a crisis as 
this." 

Mason, the lordly senator, and Governor Letcher, the drunk- 
en executive of the State, also addressed the crazy crowd, fired 
to a burning heat of madness by passion and whiskey. 

On that occasion the Confederate flag was raised upon the 
flagstaff springing from the roof of the Capitol, although the 
State had not joined the Confederacy. The people were to vote 
on the question, and yet the Convention had enjoined that the 
act of secession should be kept a secret till Norfolk Navy Yard 
and Harper's Ferry Arsenal could be seized.* The newspapers 
of Richmond had no announcement to make the next mornina: 
that the State was no longer a member of the Union. What 
honorable, high-minded, " chivalrous" proceedings! 

Then came the volunteers thronging the streets. Professor 
Jackson (Stonewall) was drillmg the cadets. Three days after 
the passage of the ordinance of secession, troops were swarming 
in the yard around the Capitol, and A. H. Stephens, Vice- 
President of the Confederacy, and Ex-President Tyler, and the 
drunken Letcher were negotiating an alliance offensive and 
defensive between the sovereign State of Virginia and the 
States already confederated to establish a slaveholding republic. 

Next in order was the arrival of Jefl" Davis and the peram- 
bulating government of the Confederacy, to tarry a few days 
m Richmond before proceeding to Washington. Davis and his 

» * Kebel War Clerk's Diary, Vol. I. p. 24. 



1865.] RICHMOND. . 521 

followers made boastful promises of what they could and would 
do, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the hated 
Yankees. Then the hurly-burly, — the rush of volunteers, the 
arrival of troops, welcomed with cheers and smiles, the streets 
through which they passed strewn with flowers by the ladies of 
Richmond. The Confederate Congress and heads of depart- 
ments came, — Stephens, Toombs, Cobb, Floyd, Wigfall, Mem- 
minger, Mallory, — with thousands of place-hunters, filling the 
city to overflowing, putting money into the pockets of the citi- 
zens, — not gold and silver, but Confederate currency, to be 
redeemed two years after the ratification of the treaty of peace 
with the United States. Beauregard, the rising star of the 
South, came from Charleston, to reap fresh laurels at Manassas. 
Richmond was solemn on that memorable Sabbath, the 21st of 
June, 1861, for through the forenoon the reports were that the 
Yankees were winning the day ; but at night, when the news 
came from Davis that the " cowardly horde " was flying, panic- 
stricken, to Washington, how jubilant the crowd ! 

A year later there were pale faces, when the army of 
McClellan swept through Williamsburg. Jeff Davis packed up 
his furniture, and made preparations to leave the city. There 
was another fright when the Rebels came back discomfited 
from Fair Oaks. 

From the roof of the Capitol anxious eyes watched the war- 
clouds rolling up from Mechanics ville and Cold Harbor. Those 
were mournful days. Long lines of ambulances, wagons, 
coaches, and carts, filled with wounded, filed through the 
streets. How fearful the slaughter to the Rebels in those mem- 
orable seven days' fighting ! Deep the maledictions heaped 
upon the drunken Magruder for the carnage at Malvern Hill. 

Beneath the roof on which I stood Stuart, Gregg, and Stone- 
wall Jackson, — dead heroes of the Rebellion, — had reposed 
in state, mourned by the weeping multitude. 

Before me were Libby Prison and Belle Isle. What wretch- 
edness and suffering there ! Starvation for soldiers of the Un- 
ion, within sight of the fertile fields of Manchester, waving 
with grain and alive with flocks and herds ! Nearer the Cap- 
itol was the mansion of Jeff" Davis, the slave-trader's jail and 
the slave-market. What agony and cries of distress within the 



522 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^Pl'ilj 

hearing of the Chief Magistrate of the Confederacy, as mothers 
pressed their infants to their breasts for the last time. 

In front of the Capitol was the stone building erected by the 
United States, where for four years Jeff Davis had played the 
sovereign, where Benjamin, Memminger, Toombs, Mallory, 
Sedden, Trenholm, and Breckenridge had exercised authority, 
dispensing places of profit to their friends, who came in crowds 
to, find exemption from conscription. Beyond, and on either 
side, was the forest of blackened chimneys, tottering walls, and 
smoking ruins of the fire which had swept away the accumu- 
lated wealth of years in a day. How terrible the retribution ! 
Before the war there was quiet in the city, but there came a 
reign of terror, when ruffians ruled, when peaceful citizens 
dared not be abroad after dark. There was sorrow in every 
household for friends fallen in battle, and Poverty sat by many 
a hearthstone. 

Hardest of all to bear was the charity of their enemies. 
Under the shadow of the Capitol the Christian and Sanitary 
Commissions were giving bread to the needy. Standing there 
upon the roof I could look down upon a throng of men, wo- 
men, and children receiving food from the kind-hearted dele- 
gates, upon whose lips were no words of bitterness, but only 
the song of the angels, — " Peace on earth, good-will to men ! " 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 523 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 

The attitude of Great Britain towards the United States 
during the Rebellion will make a strange chapter in history. 
The first steamship returning from that country after the firing 
upon Fort Sumter brought the intelligence that the British 
government had recognized the Rebels as belligerents. Mr. 
Adams, the newly appointed Minister to the Court of St. 
James, was on his way to London, but without waiting to hear 
what representations he might have to make, the ministry with 
unseemly haste gave encouragement to the Rebels. 

Palmerston, Russell, the chief dignitaries of state, and of 
the Church also, with the London Times and Morning Post, 
espoused the cause of the slaveholders, while the weavers of 
Lancashire, though thrown out of employment by the blockade, 
gave their sympathies to the North. They were ignorant of 
the causes which led to hostilities. The English press informed 
them that it was the tariff ; that the people of the South had 
a right to secede ; that the United States had no right to re- 
strain them ; that the South was fighting for liberty : but not- 
withstanding this, the opei;atives, from the beginning, ranged 
themselves on the side of the Union. They stood in opposition 
to Palmerston and the peers of the realm, — the press, the 
aristocracy, and the mill-owners. In this they were guided, 
perhaps, more by instinct than by reason. 

They knew that in the North labor was free, but that the 
South had made slavery the corner-stone of their Confederacy. 
Their life was ever a battle, for Labor was the slave of Capital. 
They knew nothmg of State rights, or the rights of belligerents, 
or of American tariffs, but instinct by a short road led them 
to the conclusion that the conflict was not merely national, but 
world-wide, and that the freemen of the North were fighting 
for the rights of men everywhere. 



524 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [-'^pi'il) 

The London Times was foremost among the newspapers to 
prophesy the disruption of the Union. Its utterances were 
oracular. It claimed superior knowledge and a deeper insight 
of the American question than any of its contemporaries, and 
its opinions were accepted as truth by all Englishmen who 
approved the slaveholders' war. Ship-builders, cotton-brokers, 
and capitalists regulated their faith and works by the leading 
articles of that journal, and loaned their money to the South. 

" The great republic is gone, and no serious attempt will be 
made by the North to save it," wrote Mr. W. H. Russell to the 
Times in April, 1861. 

" General bankruptcy is inevitable, and agrarian and social- 
ist riots may be expected very soon," was the despatch of that 
individual immediately after the battle of Bull Run. 

The tradespeople of England believed him. The South was 
victor ; the Confederacy was to become a nation. The agents 
of the South were already in England purchasing supplies, 
paymg liberal prices. They found that Englishmen were ready 
to engage in any scheme of profit, — in running the blockade, 
building war-ships for the Confederate government, or selling 
arms and ammunition, in violation of the laws of the realm. 

As a large number of letters written by Rebel agents and 
emissaries in England and France have fallen into my hands, 
I purpose in this chapter to give a rSsume of their contents, 
which expose the secret history of the Cotton Loan. 

Soon after the beginning of hostilities the Liverpool corre- 
spondent of the Times, Mr. James §pence, entered heartily into 
the support of the cause of the South. He was engaged in com- 
mercial pursuits, but found leisure not only to keep up his cor- 
respondence with the Times, but to write a book entitled the 
" American Union," in which he advocated the right of the 
South to secede, and extolled slavery as a superior condition 
of life for the laboring man. 

" The negroes," said he, " have at all times abundant food : 
the sufferings of fireless winters are unknown to them, medi- 
cal attendance is always at command ; in old age there is no 
fear of a workhouse ; their children are never a burden or a 
curse ; their labor, though long, is neither difficult nor un- 
healthy. As a rule, they have their own ground and fowls and 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 525 

vegetables, of which they sell a surplus. So far, then, as 
merely animal comforts extend, their lot is more free from suf- 
fering than those of many classes of European laborers." 

Such sympathy with slavery received its reward in the ap- 
pointment of Mr. Spence as financial agent of the Confederacy. 
Large sums of money were sent from Charleston, Savannah, 
and Richmond to England. Vessels found little difficulty in 
running the blockade during the first year of the war, and 
Nassau became the half-way station, and thousands of English- 
men counted up their gains from blockade-running with glee. 
Societies were formed in London and other principal cities, 
called " Confederate Aid Associations." 

An address to the British public was issued, setting forth the 
barbarism of the North against the South, struggling for her 
rights. 

" The women of the South," reads the address, "have been insulted, 
imprisoned, flogged, violated, and outraged in a most inhuman and sav- 
age manner. Their homes and goods have been destroyed, their houses 
forcibly entered, the helpless and unresisting inmates murdered, the 
fleeing overtaken and cut down in cold blood by the savage soldiery 

of the North They are now glutting their hellish rage against 

the people they seek to destroy in inflicting every kind of torture, 
punishment, and misery that their fruitful minds can invent upon those 

that they would fain call fellow-citizens The atrocities, cruelties, 

crimes, and outrages committed against the South in this war are with- 
out a parallel in the history of the world 

" In the name of suffering Lancashire, civilization, justice, peace, 
liberty, humanity, Christianity, and a candid world ; and by the highest 
considerations that can call men into action, we beg you to come for- 
ward to aid, contribute, and support a brave and valiant people that 
are fighting for their homes, firesides, birthright, lives, independence, 
sacred honor, and all that is dear to mankind. By all the sorrows, 
deprivations, bereavements, losses, hardships, and suffering that now 
ingulf the Confederate people, we appeal to you to arouse, and tuA\ 
to their aid with your pence, shillings, and pounds ; give them your 
sympathy, countenance, and influence, to hurl the tyrants from their 
country, and obtain the greatest boon to man, — self-government. Fairest 
and best of earth, for the sake of violated innocence, insulted virtue, 
and the honor of your sex, — come in woman's majesty and omnipo- 
tence, and give strength to a cause that has for its object the highest 
human aims, the amelioration and exaltation of humanity." 



526 



FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. 



[April, 



The address was issued by Englishmen, had a wide circula- 
tion, and undoubtedly was accepted as a true representation of 
affairs. 

Then Whittier sent his stinging words, " To Englishmen," 
across the Atlantic : — 

" But yesterday you scarce could shake, 
In slave-abhorring rigor, 
Our Northern palms, for conscience' sake ; 
To-day you clasp the hands that ache 
With ' walloping the nigger ' ! 

" And is it Christian England cheers 
The bruiser, not the bruised ? 
And must she run, despite the tears 
And prayers of eighteen hundred years, 
A-muck in Slavery's crusade ? 

" O black disgrace ! O shame and loss 
Too deep for tongue to phrase on ! 
Tear from your flag its holy cross. 
And in your van of battle toss 

The pirate's skuU-bone blazon ! " 

The Trent affair had inflamed the British public, and Rebel 
sympathizers were fierce for war, that the South might reap 
the advantage ; but Mason and Slidell had been given up by 
President Lincoln, and Mr. Mason stood hat in hand at the 
gate of St. James. But Earl Russell could not conveniently 
see him just then. Lancashire had spoken. Men upon whose 
humble hearths no fire warmed the wintry air, in whose homes 
poverty was ever a guest, around whose doors the wolf of want 
was always prowling, — the bone and muscle of England, with 
whom the instinct of Liberty was stronger to persuade than 
distress and famine to subdue, — they, the hardy workers of 
England, were with the North. 

At home, in the valley of the Shenandoah, Mr. Mason had 
been a Virginia lord. It was his nature to be proud, imperi- 
ous, and haughty. He lived in the greatness of an ancient 
family name. He expected ready admittance at St. James ; 
but though he rang the bell early and often, and sent in his 
card. Earl Russell was not " at home " to him. 

He was ready to turn away in disgust, but the wants of the 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 527 

Confederacy compelled him to submit to whatever humiliation 
Earl Russell might choose to administer. He told his griefs to 
Mr. Benjamin, the Confederate Secretary of State, and received 
condolence. 

" Your correspondence with Lord Russell," wrote the Secretary, 
" shows with what scant courtesy you have been treated, and exhibits 
a marked contrast between the conduct of the Enghsh and French 
statesmen now in office, in their intercourse with foreign agents, emi- 
nently discreditable to the former. It is lamentable that at this late 
period of the nineteenth century, a nation so enlightened as Great 
Britain should have failed yet to discover that a principal cause of the 
dislike and hatred towards England, of which complaints are rife, in 
her Parliament and press, is the offensive arrogance of some of her 
public men. The contrast is striking between the polished courtesy 
of M. Thouvenal and the rude incivility of Lord Russell. 

" Your determination to submit to these annoyances in the service 
of your country, and to overlook personal slights, while hope remains 
that your continued presence in England may benefit our cause, cannot 
fail to command the approval of your government." * 

Englishmen wanted to see the great republic broken to 
pieces, but there were repulsive features in that system of 
civilization which the South was attempting to establish. The 
Union dead were mangled at Manassas ; their bones were carved 
into charms and amulets. Among the mountains of Tennessee 
old men were dragged from their beds at midnight, and hung 
without judge or jury, because they loved the flag of their 
country. In Missouri bridges were burned at night, and men, 
women, and children upon railroad trains were precipitated into 
yawning gulfs by their neighbors ! This was the work of 
the " master race," too " refined," " chivalric," and " gentle- 
manly " to associate with the laboring men of the North. 
Were the workingmen of Old England any more worthy than 
they of New England to associate with the slave-masters of the 
South ? British operatives and mechanics understood the ques- 
tion, — that it was a conflict between two systems of labor, — 
and they rejected with disdain all overtures from the South. 

The intervention of England and France was necessary to 
insure the success of the Rebel cause, and English and Euro- 

* Benjamin's letter to Mason, October 28, 1862. 



528 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [-^pril, 

pean public sentiment must be brought round to the Southern 
side by the power of the press. Mr. Edwin De Leon therefore 
was made an agent of the Confederacy to subsidize the press 
of Europe. The wires were pulled by Mr. Benjamin, who 
wrote thus to Mr. De Leon : — 

" I will take measures to forward you additional means to enable you 
to extend the field of your operations, and to embrace, if possible, the 
press of Central Europe in your campaign. Austria and Prussia, as 
well as the smaller Germanic powers, seem to require intelligence of 
the true condition of our affairs, and the nature of our struggle ; and 
it is to be hoped that you may find means to act with efficiency in 
moulding public opinion in those countries." * 

That this scheme of bribery was successful will appear 
further on. The British government having with precipitate 
haste recognized the Rebels as belligerents, English merchants 
were quick to follow in the track of Palmerston and Russell. 
Merchants, bankers, admirals of the navy, officers of the army, 
speculators, spendthrifts, adventurers from the slums and stews 
of London and Liverpool, in common with members of Parlia- 
ment and peers of the realm, engaged in blockade-running, not 
only to enrich themselves, but to aid in establishing a govern- 
ment based on human slavery. The agents of the Confeder- 
acy in England found hearty welcome from all classes, espe- 
cially the ship-builders. 

Soon after the attack upon Sumter Mr. Mallory, Secretary 
of the Confederate Navy, sent Captain Bullock of Savannah 
to England, to engage shipbuilders to fit out privateers. He 
found W. C. Miller & Son of Liverpool, and the Lairds of 
Birkenhead, ready to engage in the work of destroying Ameri- 
can commerce. He contracted with the first for the building 
of the Oreto, or Florida, and with the Lairds for the "290," 
or Alabama. He also found warm welcome from Roebuck, 
Gregory, and other members of Parliament, and from capital- 
ists, who subscribed liberally in aid of the enterprise. 

Funds were needed for the payment of Rebel debts in Eng- 
land, and the Confederate Congress passed a bill in April, 
1862, authorizing the exchange of bonds for articles in kind, 

* Benjamin's letter to Mr. De Leon, December 13, 1862. 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 529 

aud Mr. Benjamin thereupon wrote to Mr. Mason, advising him 
of the financial arrangements which liad been made. 

" At your suggestion," said Mr. Benjamin, " I have appointed Mr. 
James Spence of Liverpool financial agent, and have requested him to 
negotiate for the sale of five million dollars of our eight per cent bonds, 
if he can realize fifty per cent on them. I have already sent over two 
millions of bonds, and will send another million in a week or ten days. 
Mr. Spence is directed to confer with Messrs. Eraser, Trenholm & Co., 

who had previously been made our depositaries at Liverpool I 

have also directed Mr. Spence to endeavor to negotiate for the applica- 
tion of two and a half millions of coin, which I have here, for the pur- 
chase of supplies and munitions for our army. I hope that this coin 
will be accepted by British houses in payment at the rate of sterling in 
England, less freight and insurance. It seems to me that upon its 
transfer to British owners, they could obtain transportation for it on 
their vessels of war from any Confederate port, inasmuch as it would 
be bona fide British property, and in any event the holder of the trans- 
fer would have a certain security." * 

This scheme of an alliance between British naval officers and 
tlie Rebel government was carried out, and a portion of the 
coin shipped in a British man-of-war, the Vesuvius, from Ba- 
hama, by the English consul. f 

The bonds referred to by Mr. Benjamin were the regularly 
issued bonds of the Confederacy. Cotton certificates were 
also issued ; but in addition to these means, the Rebel govern- 
ment deemed it advisable to bring out a loan based exclusively 
on cotton. 

The proposition came from Mr. Slidell, who was in Paris, 
envoy to the Court of France, but who, instead of attending 
the receptions of the Emperor at the Tuileries, was endeavor- 
ing to obtain social and political recognition by giving luxuri- 
ous entertainments. Napoleon was ready to recognize the 
Confederacy, but Palmerston and Russell hesitated, and he was 
not quite prepared to miove alone in the matter. 

He was anxious to see the great republic broken up, not 
that he particularly desired the establishment of the Confed- 
eracy, but for the furtherance of his own designs in Mexico. 

* Benjamin's Letter, October 24, 1862. 

t Earl Russell's letter to Mr. Adams, Diplo. Cor. 1863, Part I. p. 129. 
34 



530 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

Wliile professing to Mr. Slidell good-will, and a readiness to 
give substantial aid to the Rebellion, his agents, M. de Sa- 
ligny, French minister in Mexico, M. Thdron, French consul at 
Galveston, and M. Tabouelle, French vice-consul at Richmond, 
were intriguing to dismember Texas from the Confederacy. 

" The Emperor of the French," wrote Mr. Benjamin to Mr. 
Slidell, " has determined to conquer and hold Mexico as a col- 
ony, and is desirous of interposing a weak power between his 
new colony and the Confederate States, in order that he may 
feel secure against interference with his designs on Mexico. 
.... The evidence thus afforded of a disposition on the part 
of France to seize on this crisis of our fate as her occasion for 
the promotion of selfish interests, and this too after the assur- 
ances of friendly disposition, or, at worst, impartial neutrality, 
which you have received from the leading public men of 
France, cannot but awaken solicitude."* 

The French consuls at Galveston and Richmond were dis- 
missed by Jeff Davis, but that did not outwardly ruffle the 
temper of the Emperor, nor stop the cotton loan, as will pres- 
ently be seen. The Rebel congressmen looked upon Slidell's 
scheme with distrust, but the bill was eventually passed in se- 
cret session. The finances of the Confederacy were going to 
wreck. There were heavy debts in Europe, and, unless the bills 
were promptly paid, there would be an end of supplies. Eng- 
land was suffering for cotton, and the time had come for the 
successful negotiation of a loan, based on cotton, with great 
apparent advantages to the subscribers. The mill-owners of 
Manchester were ready to enter upon any speculation which 
would start their machinery ; the aristocracy would subscribe 
out of sympathy for the slaveholders ; the Liverpool shippers 
would take stock, as it would give employment to their block- 
ade-runners ; while the unusual risks and great chances of 
profit would make it attractive to the multitude with whom the 
Derby is the whitest day of the year. 

Mr. Slidell had made the acquaintance of Baron Ermile 
d'Erlanger of Paris, a Jewish banker, who had a branch house 
in Frankfort conducted by his brother, Raphael d'Erlanger. 

* Benjamin to Slidell, October 17, 1862. 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 531 

This firm was recommended by Slidell as a suitable agency for 
bringing out the loan, and the contract was given them by Mr. 
Memminger. D'Erlanger began preparations for putting it on 
the market in February, 1863. He desired to issue it in Eng- 
land, France, Holland, and Germany at the same time, to bring 
to the Confederacy the financial support of Europe. The con- 
siderations were political as well as financial. He found some 
difficulty, however, in obtaining English agents. The Barings 
and Rothschilds stood aloof. He offered the London manage- 
ment to Messrs. John H. Gilliat & Co., but that firm declined 
having anything to do with it. It was offered to other bankers, 
but refused. He found willing agents at last in Messrs. John 
Henry Schroeder & Co., and the firm of Messrs. Lawrence, 
Son, and Pearce. In Liverpool Messrs. Frazer, Trenholm, & 
Co. had been acting as agents of the Confederacy, and the 
management was placed in their hands. Schroeder's agents 
in Amsterdam managed it there, while D'Erlanger's branch 
house in Frankfort brought it out in that city. D'Erlanger 
himself manipulated it in Paris. 

D'Erlanger and Mr. Beer, of his firm, visited England, and 
arranged matters with Mason and Spence, and with Frazer, 
Trenholm, & Co., all of whom were acting as agents of the 
Confederacy. A special agent had been appointed by the 
Rebel government to take charge of the loan, — General C. J. 
McRae, — who was on his way from Richmond to Paris ; but 
as the needs of the Confederacy were urgent, the loan was 
opened before his arrival. 

The support of the press was secured, — all but two or three 
papers being brought, through the agency of Mr. De Leon, 
Mr. Mason, and Mr. Spence, to praise the Confederacy, cry 
down the Union, and urge recognition by France and England 
as the surest way to put an end to the war. 

The correspondence in my possession between the parties 
opens on the 1st of March. Mr. Spence, sitting in his parlor 
in the Burlington Hotel, Old Burlington Street, London, writes 
to Baron d'Erlanger, who is in Paris, asking for a copy of the 
contract. 

D'Erlanger did not place a very high estimate on the ability 
of Mr. Spence as a financial manager ; but as he was the cor- 



532 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [-^pril, 

respondent of the Times, and commercial agent of the Confed- 
eracy, thought best not to offend him. Spence, on the other 
hand, saw an opportunity to make money. A week later, on 
the 6th of March, he wrote thus to D'Erlanger : — 

" You said something in the last interview of £ 50,000 of the stock. 
If it had occurred to you to put down to me that quantity at the gross 
price of seventy-seven, I should be disposed to consider it, looking to 
the advantage to aU concerned of having a common interest." 

As the loan was issued at 90, this proposal of Mr. Spence to. 
take it at 77, — giving him a margin of 13 per cent under the 
contract price, — was, in the language of bankers, " a shave " 
for his services as correspondent of the Times, — a transaction 
upon which more light will be thrown further on in this history. ^ 

The loan was put upon the market on the 19th of March. 
Fifteen per cent was to be paid at the time of subscribing. 
The stock was limited to three million pounds sterling 
(115,000,000); but so desirous were Englishmen to take it, 
the applications were for X 9,000,000 (145,000,000). 

On the evening of the 19th Mr. Spence wrote to D'Erlanger 
of its success in Liverpool : — 

" All goes well here. The cotton trade take it up with strong inter- 
est, and it will come out for large sums. I applied very early for 

£ 20,000, and thought I should have been first, but found P was 

before me, with his £ 100,000. You will have a lot of applications in 
London from the storgs, — that is, those who join to sell at the premium. 
Here we have no class of that kind, and our applicants, as in Manches- 
ter, being more bona fide, will, as a rule, take a day or two to digest its 
merits. The market closed here at 4J, — quite high enough for the 
first day." 

On the next day, the 20th, Mr. Spence writes : — 

" We shall very much exceed a million here, I think, by noon to- 
morrow. The political effect will be enormous. It is the recognition 
of the South by the intelligence of Europe." 

On the 21st, congratulations were received by D'Erlanger 
from Slidell, who was in Ijondon. 

" Allow me to congratulate you," said he, " on your magnifie 
success. Apart from the direct advantages of the affair, it can- 
not fail to give great prestige to your house." 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 633 

" The Emperor himself, through the medimn of his Chef de 
Cabinet,''^ wrote D'Erlanger to Memminger, " complimented us 
upon the great success; a proof with what interest the operation 
had been received by all friends of the South. ''^ 

Notwithstanding the " intelligence of Europe " had rushed 
to secure it, bankers of respectability — men who prized honor 
and integrity above pounds and pence — stood aloof, for they 
remembered that 'Mr. Jefferson Davis, President of the slave- 
holding Confederacy, was a repudiator. No allegation against 
him had been made through the press, but the Times came to 
the rescue before the attack. On the 19th, the day on which 
the loan was issued, Mr. Sampson, editor of the city article, 
said : — 

" Those among the English people who are still suffering from Mis- 
sissippi repudiation will perhaps view with wonder and regret the ne- 
gotiation of a loan for a government of which Mr. Jefferson Davis, by 
whom that repudiation was defended in his place in Congress, is the 
head. But the Southern Confederacy includes Virginia, Georgia, and 
other honorable States, and it is by the prospect of what the Confed- 
eracy will do as a whole that people will make their calculation. The 
reasoning that would exclude the South from a loan on account of the 
conduct of Mississippi," would apply equally to the North, since the 
North embraces Michigan. It would also have applied to the United 
States loans negotiated while Mississippi was a State of the Union, and 
especially while Mr. Jefferson Davis was an influential member of the 
Federal government, and regarded with high favor by all the North- 
ern population, by whom the remarks of the Times on his financial 
views were then declared to be nothing but the outpourings of British 
rancor." * 

Turning to the Times of July 13th, of 1849, we find a letter 
written by Jeff Davis, copied from the Washington Union, in 
which the repudiator says : — 

" The crocodile tears which have been shed over ruined creditors 
are on a par with the lawless denunciations which have been heaped 
upon that State." 

To this the Times replied : — 

" Taking its principles and its tone together, it is a doctrine which 
has never been paralleled. Let it circulate throughout Europe, that a 

* Times, March 19, 1863. 



634 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^pi'ilj 

member of the United States Senate in 1849 has openly proclaimed 
that at a recent period the Governor and Legislative assemblies of his 
own State deliberately issued fraudulent bonds for five million dollars 
to sustain the credit of a rickety bank, that the bonds in question hav- 
ing been hypothecated abroad to innocent holders, such holders have 
not only no claim against the community by whose Executive and 
Representatives this act was committed, but that they are to be taunted 
for appealing to the verdict of the civilized world, rather than to the 
judgment of the legal oflScers of the State by whose functionaries they 
have been robbed, and that the ruin of toil-worn men, of women and of 
children, and the crocodile tears which that ruin has occasioned, is a 
subject of jest on the part of those by whom it has been accomplished, 
and then let it be asked if any foreigner ever penned a libel on the 
American character equal to that against the people of Mississippi 
by their own Senator." * 

Mr. Davis published a rejoinder, dated at Briarfield, Miss., 
August 29, 1849, addressed to the editor of the Mississippiafi. 
" It is a foreigner's slander," said he, " against the govern- 
ment, the judiciary, and the people of the Mississippi. It is 
an attack upon our republican government, the hypocritical 
cant of stock-jobbers and pensioned presses, — by the hired 
advocates of the innocent stock dealers of London change. It 
is a calumnious imputation." 

The State of Mississippi had obtained the money in London 
on the solemn pledge of the faith of the State, and loaned it 
to the citizens ; but the State had broken its pledge, repudiated 
the debt, and Mr. Jefif Davis eulogized the proceeding ! The 
courts of the State decreed in 1842 that the debt was valid, 
and the decision was reaflBrmed in 1853. Jeff Davis was then 
Secretary of War, and through his efforts and influence the 
State continued to repudiate the claims of the British bond- 
holders. In 1863 Mississippi was indebted to Englishmen not 
only for the principal, $5,000,000, but for twenty-five years of 
unpaid interest ; yet, notwithstanding this, the Times, eating its 
words of other days, came before the English people with a 
certificate of character for the repudiator, also publishing one 
from Slidell. " I am inclined to think," wrote Slidell, " that 
the people in London confound Mr. Reuben Davis, whom I 

* Times, July 13, 1849. 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 535 

have always understood to have taken the lead on the question 
of repudiation, with President Jefferson Davis. I am not 
aware that the latter was ever identified with the question." 
The Times, commenting upon Slidell's letter, said : — 

" It is satisfactory to find that the friends of the President of the 
Confederate States are anxious to free him from the charge of having 
been an advocate of the repudiation which has now been practised for 
exactly a quarter of a century by the State of Mississippi 

" Should it turn out that there has been a mistake, the announce- 
ment will be hailed with warm gratification, — not from any idle 
feeling of partisanship for the South, on the one hand, or the merely 
sordid consideration of the prospects of the bondholders on the other, 
but because there can be no question, whether his course be judged 
by Northerners or Southerners, that in his conduct of the existing 
war Mr. Jefferson Davis has displayed such qualities as to give the 
world an interest in wishing that the dishonorable classes who are to 
be found in every nation should not, either now or in the future, be 
able to point to him as an instance of the possibility of a heartless dis- 
regard of pecuniary rights being compatible with real greatness of 
character. It is to be apprehended, however, that the solution will not 
come in the manner contemplated. Nevertheless, in another way it 
is not out of reach, and the best probability is that the unhappy blot 
upon Mr. Davis's reputation was caused by the influence of an unscru- 
pulous community upon a then young and aspiring politician, deriving 
his views, perhaps, from the sophistical perversions of fraudulent law- 
yers, and that he has since discovered his mistake, and learnt to feel 
and acknowledge that if he had again to act in the matter, it would be 
in a very different spirit." * 

It was necessary, for the success of the loan, to show that 
the South was sure of obtaining its independence, and while 
the editor of the city article was whitewashing Jeff Davis, the 
editor in chief was assuring the public that the Union was for- 
ever broken up. 

Thus wrote Mr. Delaine, the editor in chief, on ihe 19th : — 

" So far as it is concerned, the once United States are a mere heap 
of loose materials, a caldron of molten stuff, ready to receive what- 
ever form fortune may determine. In that vast melee are two cen- 
tres, which severally strive to give law and order to the whole. At 

* Times, March 23, 1863. 



536 FOUK YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^pril, 

"Washington a body of men, not without courage, ability, and enterprise, 
are laboring, not to restore the Union, — they might as well try to re- 
store the Heptarchy, — but to reconquer what has been lost, and, let the 
worst come to worst, to establish a military power." 

On the 27tli another leader was given to American affairs. 
Said the editor : — 



" As to the final issue of the war, all the world, except some politi- j 

cians, soldiers, and contractors at Washington and New York, have | 

made up their minds, .... excepting a few disappointed gentlemen of | 

Republican tendencies, we all expect, we nearly all wish, success to the ' 
Confederate cause." 

And again, on the 28th : — : 

" There was room enough for two states on one continent, could the } 

Americans but have believed it. We do not affect to be surprised at 
the course they have taken. It was natural that a blow should be 
struck for the Union ; but aU Europe has. long seen that the Union 
could never be restored." 

That men act from motives is a fundamental truth of moral 
philosophy. Why the Times gave such earnest advocacy to the 
slaveholders may be inferred from what follows. Opening now 
the correspondence of D'Erlanger with the Rebel Secretary 
of the Treasury, we read, under date of June 6, 1863 : — 

" A great margin had to be given to interest the newsjjapers, 
pay commissions, and captivate the opinions of those who treated 
the loan and its support as a question of profit and loss.^^ 

And further on, in the same letter : — 

" Thanks to great pecuniary sacrifices made, and the support 
OF ALL THE NEWSPAPERS, the subscriptions for the loan surpassed 
our own expectations. It reached five times the amount of the 
loan, and success made everybody friends.'''' 

At a later date, J. Henry Schroeder & Co., in a note marked 
" private," writes to D'Erlanger : — 

" For the advertisements in the Times, through Mr. Samp- 
son, and later on in the Index, concerning the payment of the 
coupons, we shall do the needful.''^ 

Thus we learn, from the statement of D'Erlanger, that the 
Times, upon which John Bull pins his faith, was not only by 
sympathy, but through interest, the advocate of the loan and 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 537 

of the slave-lords' Confederacy. Its financial articles and its 
leaders were written to the order of D'Erlanger. By the aid of 
the Times, a Parisian Jew, taking advantage of the sympathy 
expressed for the South by lords, members of Parliament, 
bankers, business men, and adventurers, and of the general 
gullibility of the British public, was able to secure a subscrip- 
tion of forty-five million dollars, — or thirty million in ' excess 
of the loan ! On page 532 we have seen that the Liverpool 
correspondent of the Times had been quieted by a commission 
of £6,500 ($30,000), not for services rendered, but to secure 
his interest, as explained in D'Erlanger's letter to Memminger, 
written on the 8th of July, 1863. The banker says : — 

" When our loan contract was coming back from America, this gen- 
tleman [Mr. Spence] wanted to interfere in the matter, by all means, 
and claimed a partnership to the contract of one sixth, under the pre- 
tence that he was the financial agent of the Confederate government 
in England, and that our making the loan had put him out of business 
which he might otherwise have transacted for the South. We knew 
that Mr. Spence wrote frequently for the Times, that as a public 
writer he could do a great deal of harm if not any good. We suc- 
ceeded in escaping his intrusion, and when I had made arrangements to 
bring out the loan in England, I followed his invitation to arrange mat- 
ters with him in Liverpool, and went down there myself. I gave him 
£50,000 of the loan at seventy-seven, taking them back at ninety, 
which gave him a commission as profit of £6,500." 

These extracts from D'Erlanger's correspondence will serve 
to show the American people that the London Times was in the 
service and pay of Jeff Davis during the Rebellion. 

On the evening of the 23d Lord Campbell called up the 
American question in Parliament, making a speech in favor of 
recognizing the Confederacy. He spoke of the remarkable suc- 
cess of the loan as a proof that the English public were ready 
to aid the South. The loan being thus bolstered up rose to 
four and a half per cent premium. 

Mr. McRae having arrived in France, there was a meeting 
of distinguished Rebels in Paris on the 4th of June, at D'Er- 
langer's banking-house. Mason, Slidell, and L. J. C. Lamar, — 
who had been purchasing supplies in London for the Confed- 
eracy, — and McRae were present. The object of the meet- 



538 FOUE YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^prilj 

ing was to consider the financial condition of the Confederate 
government in Europe. The indebtedness of the Confederacy 
abroad, for cannon, arms, ships, and supplies, at that time, was 
put down at £ 1,741,000 ($8,705,000). " At the same time," 
reads the correspondence, " Ermile d'Erlanger & Co. furnished 
the meeting with a full statement concerning the loan. Accord- 
ing to -which, .£1,850,000 (19,250,000) of the loan is in circu- 
lation ; a part of which is full paid, having been subscribed for 
by the creditors of the government." 

The balance of £ 1,150,000 was in the hands of D'Erlanger 
for disposal. In a letter written two days later, on the 6th, by 
D'Erlanger to Memminger, we learn how there happened to be 
so large an amount of the stock on hand. Unfavorable news 
from America caused a feeling of uneasiness, and speculative 
holders began to sell at depreciated rates. 

"An arrangement," says D'Erlanger, "was thereupon entered 
into with Mr. Mason, and heartily approved by Mr. Slidell, which 
enabled us to buy for the government £ 1,000,000 of the stock; 
but so eager was the speculation, that this did not suffice, and 
the sum had to be extended to £ 1,500,000. This operation 
had its effect, and better tidings helped the market." 

Upon this amount purchased by D'Erlanger to sustain the 
price of the loan, 35 per cent had been paid in by the sub- 
scribers. 

" We would not," writes the banker, " have recommended 
the course of buying back part of the loan for the government, 
but for its peculiar character. The first Confederate loan was 
as much a political as a commercial transaction, and we have 

done everything that it may be regarded in both ways 

We, as well as our friends Messrs. Schroeder, are happy to have 
been able to lend our names and credit to the first financial 
operation of the South." 

On the 13th of June McRae wrote to D'Erlanger a sharp let- 
ter, charging him with " unauthorized proceedings." D'Erlan- 
ger was playing a good game for himself. 

" These important modifications of the contract," wrote 
McRae, " have in every case inured to the benefit of the con- 
tractors.''^ 

D'Erlanger replied on the same day, saying, " The opera- 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 53.9 

tion [the repurcliase of the stock] was not conducted on any 
selfish ground, but for the political feeling attached to the loan." 
It made no difference to D'Erlanger whether he bought or sold 
on government account, so long as he received his commissions. 
He objected, however, to receiving the full amount of his com- 
mission in bonds ; he must have part cash. 

" We should," wrote he, " be under too heavy an outlay if 
we had to take the X 150,000 commission in bonds." This 
commission, therefore, up to the 15th of June, 1863, had 
reached the nice little sum of 1750,000! 

D'Erlanger having disposed of the stock to good advantage, 
was anxious to bring out a second loan on the same terms. In 
a letter written to Memminger on the 8th of July we discover 
what those terms were. 

" We are ready," said he, " to make a new loan contract, 
taking exactly the terms of the old contract, and engaging to 
divide with the government the profits to be realized, between 
the rate of 77 and the issue price." 

The loan then on the market was issued at 90, which gave 
D'Erlanger a commission of 6| per cent, — a portion of which 
doubtless went into the pocket of Slidell. D'Erlanger was 
fearful that the success of the loan would bring proposals from 
other banking-houses. " We wish," said he, " that the circum- 
stance of our names being the first connected with a large 
financial transaction for the government in Europe shall tell in 
our favor, and that a preference shall be granted to us, which 
we are quite ready to merit, by making better terms to the 
government than any other respectable house may offer." 

This proposition was indorsed by McRae, who the following 
week accompanied D'Erlanger to Rippaldson, where " a charm- 
ing company " had gathered, and " an agreeable week was 
passed in the society of Madame Caroline and Miss Theresa." 
McRae, in a letter written on the 17th, urges a new loan, but 
the news from Gettysburg and Vicksburg had " lessened the 
appetite," and we hear no more of the proposition for a second 
loan. 

At a later date, in December, the correspondence is in regard 
to the purchase of boats for the government, in which the Paris 
banker takes the part of Shylock : — 



540 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

" Well then, it now appears you need my help : 
Go to then ; you come to me, and you say, 
Shylocl:, we would have moneys." 

McRae wanted £ 200,000 on government account, and ap- 
plied to D'Erlanger, whose terms will be seen from the following 
extract from McRae' s letter : — 

" Your proposition amounts to this : That the government should pay 
100 per cent for the use of £200,000, for probably less than six 
months, with no risk on the part of the lenders, as the £ 650,000 of 
bonds deposited, and the lien on the boats purchased with the sum lent, 
would protect them against loss in any event. My proposition was to 
pay 33^ for £200,000, for a period of probably ten or twelve 
months. This I considered sufficiently favorable for the lenders, as 
they would have been secured by the deposit of £333,333 of bonds, 
and a lien on the boats." 

The American people, doubtless, care very little who among 
Rebel agents and manipulators of the loan, or who of the bond- 
holders, made or lost money, and I pass over the details of 
the interesting correspondence. That D'Erlanger managed it 
shrewdly for his own benefit is very evident. He charged in- 
terest, commission, and exchange on all the stock passing 
through his hands. In the transaction £ 140,000, raised from 
the sale of bonds, was set aside as " caution money" by Mason 
and Slidell, who wished, for political considerations, to keep the 
stock at par. D'Erlanger charged commission on the re- 
purchase of this stock, although he held it in his own name, 
and received interest on the same ! McRae was not then in 
Europe, but upon arriving he refused to ratify the act of Mason 
and Slidell, but made a proposition to D'Erlanger that the 
banker should place £ 704,000 of unsold stock. It is not 
stated what commission he was to receive. The agreement 
was verbal, and D'Erlanger was to forfeit £ 140,000 if the 
stock was not placed at the end of six months. The months 
rolled away, and the stock was not placed, and D'Erlanger, 
instead of paying his forfeiture, held on to the £ 140,000 of 
caution money, and helped himself to the interest from gov- 
ernment funds in his hands ! McRae had no redress except 
to appeal to Memminger. D'Erlanger wrote a honeyed letter 
to the Rebel Secretary of Treasury, and offered to " compro- 



1865.] THE CONFEDERATE LOAN. 541 

mise" by giving up one half! McRae finally accepted terms 
from D'Erlanger ; what they were is not stated, but McRae 
writes a doleful letter to the banker, saying that he is afraid 
Memminger and Davis will censure him. D'Erlanger seems 
to have wound McRae round his finger at will. 

Schroeder & Co. were in the "ring" with D'Erlanger, and 
received commission and brokerage on the entire amount of 
the loan, £ 3,000,000. D'Erlanger, Schroeder, and McRae 
each took £ 50,000 of stock in the " Franco-English Steam 
Navigation Company," which was to bring out cotton on gov- 
ernment account. D'Erlanger fixed the date of issuing the 
bonds, and thus brought advantage to himself. Among the 
payments made through Mr. Mason were £ 55,000 to Captain 
Crenshaw, £26,000 to Captain North, X 38,000 to Captain 
Maury, £ 31,000 to Captain Bullock and Mr. Spence. A por- 
tion of these sums went into the hands of the Lairds for the rams 
which they were building. Isaac Campbell & Co. received 
X 515,000 (12,575,000). This firm took X 150,000 of the 
loan. Bonds to the amount of £ 117,000 were converted into 
cotton. It appears that D'Erlanger endeavored to sweep these 
into his drag-net, and obtain commission and brokerage wholly 
unauthorized. 

Since the close of the war the British holders of the loan 
have called upon D'Erlanger for an account of his operations, but 
can obtain no satisfaction. They have despatched an agent to 
the United States, appealing to the magnanimity of the Federal 
government for an adjustment and payment of their claims ! 
Such insolent audacity has been promptly rebuked by Mr. 
Seward. Marvellous their stupidity and effrontery, — to ask 
pay for the coals on which they sought to roast us, for the 
rope that was to strangle the young giant of the West, whose 
growth they had beheld with alarm, and whose power they 
feared ! As is evident from the correspondence in my posses- 
sion, the whole scheme was well contrived and manipulated 
by Slidell and D'Erlanger for the benefit of themselves, and 
also of Campbell & Co., Schroeder & Co., Spence, the Lairds, 
and McRae, who, by the aid of the London Times, and " all 
the jmpers,'' were able to ftefece the English aristocracy out 
of fifteen million dollars. 



542 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^P^il, 

From mercenary motives they enlisted in the cause of 
slavery to destroy a friendly republican government. They 
had persistently asserted that a constitutional democracy like 
ours must ultimately fail to secure the rights and liberties of 
the people, — that internal war would crumble it into ruins 
like the ancient republics ; and now they thought the fulfilment 
of their prophecy so near at hand it was unnecessary longer to 
disguise their hatred, and openly gave their " aid and comfort" 
to the enemy, jeering at our efforts and denouncing our meas- 
ures to maintain our existence among the nations. They ven- 
tured their money on the doubtful issue and lost, and now so 
lugubriously bewail their folly as to make themselves ridicu 
lous in the eyes of the world, and the laughing-stock of the • 
American people. 



1865.] SURRENDER OF LEE. 543 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

SURKENDER OF LEE. 

At three o'clock Monday morning, April 3d, Wilcox's divis- 
ion of the Ninth Corps entered Petersburg just in season to 
see the rear guard of Lee's army disappear over the hills on 
the north bank of the Appomattox, having burned the bridges 
and destroyed all the supplies which could not be transported. 
Lee's army was divided, — Longstreet, Pickett, and Johnson 
being south of the stream, fifteen miles west of the city. Gor- 
don, Mahone, Ewell, and Elzy, with the immense trains of sup- 
plies and batteries from Richmond, were north of the river, — 
all moving southwest, towards Danville, with the intention of 
joining Johnston in North Carolina. 

" Good by, boys," said the women of Petersburg, some sor- 
rowfully ; others more joyful cried, " We '11 drink pure coffee, 
with sugar in it, to-morrow. No more hard times."* They 
were weary of war. The troops passed through the town in 
silence and dejection. It was a sorrowful march. The succes- 
sive disasters of Sunday, the sudden breaking up, the destruc- 
tion of property, the scenes of the night, soon had their effect 
upon the spirits of the army. Soldiers slipped from the ranks, 
disappeared in the woods, and threw away their muskets, sick at 
heart, and disgusted with war. Virginia soldiers had little in- 
clination to abandon the Old Dominion and fight in North Car- 
olina. They were State-rights men, — each State for itself. If 
Secession could cut loose from the Union, why not from the 
Confederacy ? 

Before noon the troops moving from Petersburg, and those 
retreating from Richmond, with all the baggage-trains and fly- 
ing citizens, came together on the Chesterfield road, producing 
confusion and delay. Had Lee thrown his supply trains upon 



* Lee's Last Campaign, p. 26. 



544 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^prilj 

the Lynchburg road, and made a day's march farther west with 
his army, instead of taking the nearest road to Danville, he 
probably would have escaped ; but his progress was very slow. 
The roads were soft, the wagons overloaded. The stalling of a 
single horse in the advance delayed the whole army. 

The teamsters were quite as unwilling to go south as the sol- 
diers. They were expecting every moment to hear the ringing 
shouts of Sheridan's men charging upon their flank or rear. 
There were frequent panics, which set them into a fever of 
excitement, and added to the confusion. 

Grant determined to prevent Lee's escape if possible. The 
Ninth Corps was detailed to hold the town, guard the railroad, 
reconstruct it, and follow the other corps as a reserve. The 
Second, Fifth, and Sixth Corps, instead of crossing the river 
were sent upon the double-quick along the road which runs 
between the Appomattox and the South Side Railroad. 

Ord, with the divisions of the Twenty-Fourth and Twenty- 
Fifth Corps, marched for Burkesville Junction. Sheridan, being 
in advance with the cavalry, reached Jettersville, on the Rich- 
mond and Danville road, forty-four miles from Richmond, on 
the 4th, tore up the track, intrenched his position, and waited 
for the infantry. Meade joined him on the morning of the 
5th, while Ord, by a forced march, reached Burkesville, south 
of Sheridan. 

Lee crossed the Appomattox at Clemenstown, moved south- 
west to Amelia Court-House, where he was joined by Long- 
street's, Pickett's, and Johnson's troops. The Appomattox has 
its rise in Prince Edward county, runs northeast, approaching 
within fifteen miles of the James, then turns southeast, and 
joins the James at Petersburg. 

The bridge at Clemenstown, on which Lee crossed was nar- 
row and unsafe, and the army was much hindered. Had he 
not crossed at all, but marched round the bend instead, he 
might have slipped past Sheridan while that officer was waiting 
at Jettersville for Meade to join him. On the 5th Meade, find- 
ing that he was ahead of Lee, instead of marching west, turned 
northeast, and swept up the railroad toward Amelia, with the 
Fifth Corps on the right, the Second in the centre, and the 
Sixth on the left with the cavalry. Lee, seeing that he could 



1865.] SUERENDER OF LEE. 545 

not go down the railroad, instead of marching southwest, as he 
had done the day before, moved directly west, to give Meade 
the slip if possible. He abandoned wagons, caissons, and for- 
age, and everything that impeded his march. 

The Rebels had reached their Bull Run. The trains from 
Richmond were crossing the bridge when a panic set in. 
" While we were gazing," says a Rebel writer, " at the wagons 
moving up from the bridge and entering the road leading to 
the Court-House, our ears caught the sound of five or sis shots 
in succession ; and, looking in the direction whence the sound 
came, we perceived two or three horsemen emerge from a 
wood about half a mile distant, and as quickly retire. We 
could not discern their uniform, but the supposition was, of 
course, that they were a part of Sheridan's cavalry. There 
was a slight confusion at the head of the train, and then a halt. 
' The Yankees ! Sheridan ! ' As the cry echoed from man to 
man, the teamsters began to turn their mules towards the 
river, many involving themselves with those in their rear, 
while others dismounted and sought the nearest wood. In five 
minutes the scene had been changed from quiet to the utmost 
disorder. The wagons were turned back with astonishing 
rapidity, each teamster unmercifully lashing his jaded animals, 
as anxious to reach the other side as an hour before he had 
been to get to this. The cavalry, who had been scattered over 
the fields cooking or eating their breakfasts, now caught the 
alarm, and leaving their rations grasped their bridles, mount- 
ed, and spurred their horses towards the bridge. For this 
point all were aiming, and the foot-sore infantry now seemed 
to have but a poor chance of life in the road now jammed with 
wagons, mules, and mounted men. The narrow defile, bounded 
on either side by tall rocks, was filled with horses, wagons, and 
men, all unable to advance a foot toward the desired point. 
.... Upon the other side (north) the panic was even greater, 
the rumor prevailing that five hundred Yankees were in our 
front, and that a large number of our wagons had been cap- 
tured and burned. Vainly plunging their sharp spurs into the 
steaming flanks of the poor mules, and still unable to make 
them trot through the mud and up the steep hills, the team- 
sters cut loose the traces, and remounting would gallop away, 

35 



546 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [-^pril, 

flourishing their long whips, yelling, and urging their horses 
to the utmost speed. Forsaking the road, they leaped the 
fences, thronged the fields, and sought the wood for hiding- 
places Scores of broken-down and wrecked wagons and 

ambulances were overturned and abandoned, their contents 
being strewed over the road ; corn and oats, meal and flour, 
covered the ground, while quartermaster's papers were scat- 
tered in every direction. Clothing and even medicinal stores 
had been in like manner thrown away." * 

When General Meade discovered Lee's new movement, he 
wheeled toward the left, and faced the Second and Fifth Corps 
northwest. The Fifth Corps moved up to Painesville, which 
is northwest of Amelia ; but Griffin, commanding, was too late 
to strike Lee, whose rear-guard had passed that point. The 
Second Corps moved through Deatonville, which is five miles 
west of Jettersville, while the Sixth Corps, moving southwest, 
came upon the Rebels on Little Sailor's Creek, a small tribu- 
tary of the Appomattox, running north. The Twenty-Fourth 
Corps meanwhile, marching from Burkesville up the railroad, 
joined the Sixth Corps at the head of the creek. 

Early in the morning of the 6th General Ord directed that 
the Petersburg and Lynchburg Railroad bridge across the 
Appomattox be seized and held if possible ; if not able to hold 
it, the troops were to destroy it. The Fifty-Fourth Pennsyl- 
vania and One Hundred and Twenty-Third Ohio were sent to 
do the work. They moved toward the river, but suddenly 
found themselves on the right flank of Lee's army, which 
was in line of battle, between Sailor's Creek and the Appo- 
mattox. 

Lee made a stand at this point to save his trains. He was 
still hoping to reach Danville. If he could fight a successful 
battle, his wagons would have time to slip away from Sheridan. 
He had already been forced ten miles out of his direct line of 
march, and if he failed here he must give up all expectation 
of reaching Danville, and strike west towards Lynchburg. 

His army stood on the west bank of Sailors' Creek, facing 
east and southeast, behind intrenchments, with the Appomat- 
tox, which here runs northeast, behind him. 

* Kebel Courier's Experience. 



1865.] SURRENDER OF LEE. 547 

"Walking along the Union lines we see that the Fifth Corps 
is not yet up from its long detour north toward Painesville, but 
the Second Corps is approaching the creek four miles above its 
junction with the Appomattox. One division of cavalry is on 
its right flank, reaching down to the river. The Sixth Corps 
is on the left of the Second, facing west. There is a break 
in the line as we go towards Ord's command, which is near 
Burkesville, facing northwest, with Sheridan's cavalry on both 
flanks. 

The forenoon was passed in skirmishing on the part of the 
Union troops. The regiments sent to seize the bridge were not 
able to accomplish the task, and were driven with severe loss. 
But now the Second Corps came up, a foothold was gained 
across the creek, and Lee's left flank was forced towards the 
river. 

It was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon before the Sixth 
Corps came up with the Rebels. This corps had been march- 
ing southwest ; but when the skirmishers discovered the enemy, 
Wright halted Seymour's division, which was in advance, faced 
it west, while Wheaton's division filed past Seymour's and took 
position on the left. The third division was in reserve. The 
cavalry was on the left of Wheaton. Sheridan found himself 
confronted by Ewell's and Kershaw's divisions, which were 
strongly intrenched. 

Seymour and Wheaton moved from the road west, went down 
the steep declivity into the ravine, receiving the fire of the 
Rebels without flinching, crossed the creek, ascended the other 
bank, and dashed upon the intrenchments. At the same moment 
,. Citstat'ils division of cavalry advanced with sabres drawn, their 
^lorses upon the run, goaded with spur and quickened by shout, 
till they caught the wild enthusiasm of their riders, and horses 
and men unitedly became as fiery Centaurs, the earth trem- 
bling beneath the tread of the thousands of hoofs, the air re- 
sounding with bugle-blasts and thrilling cheers ! 

The charge of this division was heroic. The Rebel artillery 
opened with shells, followed by canister. The infantry, protect- 
ed by breastworks, were able to give a galling fire, but the 
squadrons swept everything before them, leaping the intrench- 
ments, sabring all who resisted, crushing the whole of Lee's 



548 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [-^-pril, 

right wing by a single blow, gathering up thousands of pris- 
oners, who stood as if paralyzed by the tremendous shock. 

Entire regiments threw down their arms. Miles of wagons, 
caissons, ambulances, forges, arms, ammunition, — all that be- 
longed to that portion of the line, was lost to Lee in a moment. 
Generals Ewell, Kershaw, Defoe, Barton, Custis Lee, Borden, 
and Corse were prisoners almost before they knew it. 

" Further fighting is useless ; it will be a waste of life," said 
Ewell to Cuotar . i- .. ^ .- ..TT *' 

" Bravely done, Custar," said Sheridan, riding up, and com- 
plimenting his lieutenant in the presence of the whole division. 

It was through the co-operation of the other cavalry divis- 
ions. Crook's and Devens's and Merritt's, and of the Sixth 
Corps, that Guitar was enabled to strike such a crushing 
blow. Honor is due to all. Custar had his horse killed ; Lieu- 
tenant Harwell, Captain Bamhart, Lieutenant Narvall, Lieu- 
tenant Main, and Lieutenant Custar, all belonging to his staff, 
also had their horses shot in the splendid charge, which of 
itself proves that it was gallant and desperate. Officers and 
men alike rushed upon the enemy, rivalling each other in deeds 
of daring. 

After receiving this paralyzing blow Lee gave up all hope 
of reaching Danville. He could move only in the direction of 
Lynchburg. Caissons, wagons, and ambulances were burned, 
cannon abandoned, commissary supplies left by the roadside. 

It was a day of jubilee to the colored people, who swarmed 
out from their cabins and appropriated the plunder. 

" 'Pears like as if we were spiling the Egyptians," said an 
old man who had gathered an immense pile of blankets and 
coats. 

There was a skirmish at Farmville the next morning, between 
the cavalry and the left wing of Lee's army. The centre, and 
what remained of the right wing, crossed the Appomattox ten 
miles above Farmville, — both columns moving to Appomattox 
Court-House, where Lee hoped to unite his scattered forces. 

Grant and Meade, with the Second and Sixth Corps, crossed 
at Farmville, and followed Lee along the Petersburg and Lynch- 
burg turnpike. Ord, joined by the Fifth, starting from Burkes- 
ville, took the shortest road to Appomattox Court-House, nearly 



1865.] SURRENDER OF LEE. 549 

fifty miles distant, while Sheridan, with the main body of the 
cavalry, made a rapid movement southwest to cut off Lee's re- 
treat. The pursuit from Sailors' Creek commenced on Friday 
morning, and Lee was brought to bay Saturday noon. 

It was an exciting race. There were frequent interchanges 
of shots between the cavalry, hovering like a cloud upon Lee's 
flank, also captures of abandoned wagons, ambulances, caissons, 
pieces of artillery, and picking up of stragglers. Glimpses of 
the Rebel forces were sometimes had across the ravines. As a 
sight of the flying deer quickens the pursuit of the hound, 
so an occasional view of the flying enemy roused the soldiers 
to a wild and irrepressible enthusiasm, and their shouts and 
cheers rang long and loud through the surrounding woodlands. 

Appomattox Court-House is at the head-waters of the Appo- 
mattox River, on the table-land between the rivulets which give 
rise to that stream and the James River, which makes its great 
southern bend at Lynchburg. The place is sometimes called 
Clover Hill. It is a small village, — such as are to be seen 
throughout the Old Dominion, — one or two good, substantial 
houses, surrounded by a dozen or twenty miserable cabins. 

Lee succeeded in reuniting his troops, numbering not more 
than a division, such as once marched under his direction up 
the heights of Gettysburg, or moved into the fight in the "Wil- 
derness ; but when reunited and ready to move upon Lynch- 
burg, he found the cloud which had hung upon his flank and 
rear now enveloping him on the north, the east, the south, the 
west. Sheridan had swung past him, Ord and Griffin were 
south of him, holding the road leading to Danville, while 
Wright and Humphrey, east and north, were preparing to 
drive him over against Sheridan, who in turn would toss him 
down towards Ord and Griffin. 

Great was the consternation in the Rebel ranks when, on 
Saturday morning, the Rebels discovered that Sheridan was 
cutting off their retreat to Lynchburg. 

" Yankees at Appomattox ! Sheridan ! " * was the cry of a 
party of Rebel officers on a locomotive, hastening to Lynchburg 
in season to escape tlie Union cavalrymen then advancing to 

. * Rebel Courier's Experience. 



650 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [^pril) 

tear up the rails. Sheridan pounced upon the artillery, and on 
the afternoon of the 8th captured twenty-five pieces. Meade 
at the same time came upon the rear of the Rebels a mile 
east of the Court-House, and captured a battery. Lee's men 
were melting away, worn down by hard marching and fighting, 
and discouraged by defeat and disaster. His provisions were 
getting low, as the larger part of the supplies had been aban- 
doned. His condition was critical. 

It was a gloomy night. A courier brought intelligence that 
Sheridan had possession of Concord Station. 

" We all felt," says a Rebel writer, " our hearts chilled by 
this new rumor. Concord Station was between us and Lynch-- 
burg, and we had no knowledge of any other road to that place 
than that which we were pursuing. Turning back, our capture 
was inevitable. The generals withdrew to consult, the staff 
officers conversed in low tones, while the soldiers, teamsters, 
the cause being unknown, did not hesitate to declare their im- 
patience at the delay." * 

Lee called his last council of war, summoning Longstreet, 
Pickett, Gordon, and Hill. The condition of affairs was dis- 
cussed. It was a sad hour. Lee was much depressed. He did 
not know that the infantry under Ord and Griffin were south 
of him, but supposed that his way was disputed only by Sheri- 
dan. It was decided to force a passage. The attack was made ; 
but the volleys of musketry and the vigor of the cannonade, 
and the long lines of men in blue, convinced him that he had 
little chance of escaping. The skirmishing was kept up 
through the day, — both parties too wearied and exhausted 
to fight a general battle, — yet each moment of delay made 
Lee's condition more hopeless. 

Grant had despatched a letter to Lee on the 7th, from Farm- 
ville, asking the surrender of the army of Northern Virginia. 

Lee replied the same day, asking for terms. 

On the 8th Grant sent a second letter, insisting upon one 
condition only : " That the men and officers shall be disqualified 
for taking up arms against the United States until properly 
exchanged." 

* Rebel Courier's Experience. 



1865.] SUKRENDER OF LEE. 551 

" I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the 
surrender of this army," Lee answered ; but at the same time 
asked for an interview at ten o'clock next morning. Sheri- 
dan had not closed all the roads to Lynchburg, but was in such 
a position that it was impossible for Lee to get away with his 
army. Breckenridge, with a large number of officers and many 
thousands of privates, struck northwest, through by-roads and 
fields, crossed James River, reached Lynchburg and passed 
into North Carolina. 

The Second Corps was in position on Sunday morning, wait- 
ing the order to advance, when a flag of truce was displayed 
in front of Miles's division. Captain J. D. Cook, of General 
Miles's staff, was sent to receive it. He was met by Colonel 
Taylor, of Lee's staff, who brought a note from Lee, wishing 
for a suspension of hostilities to take into consideration the 
terms offered by General Grant on Saturday. General Meade 
signified by note that he had no authority to enter into an 
armistice, but would wait two hours before making an attack, 
and would communicate with General Grant. 

Before the expiration of the time General Grant arrived, and 
a correspondence with Lee followed, which resulted in the ap- 
pointment of a place of meeting for a more full consideration 
of the terms proposed by General Grant. 

In the little village of Appomattox Court-House there is a 
large, square brick house, with a portico in front, the residence 
of Wilmer McLean. Roses were budding in the garden on that 
Sabbath morning, violets and daffodils were already in bloom, 
and the trees which shaded the dwelling were green with the 
verdure of spring. General Lee designated it as the place for 
meeting General Grant. It was a little past two o'clock in the 
afternoon when General Lee, accompanied by General Mar- 
shall, his chief of staff, entered the house. A few minutes later 
General Grant arrived, accompanied only by Colonel Parker, 
of his staff, chief of the Six Nations. 

The meeting was in the parlor, — a square room, carpeted, 
furnished with a sofa and centre-table. Lee, dressed in a suit 
of gray, was sitting by the table when Grant entered. Time 
had silvered his hair and beard. He wore an elegant sword, 
a gift from his friends. 



552 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 

General Grant had left his sword behind, and appeared in 
the same suit he had worn in the field through the eventful 
days, — a plain blue frock, with double row of buttons, and 
shoulder-straps bearing the three silver stars, the insignia of his 
rank as Lieutenant-General. 

The meeting was cordial. After salutations the two com- 
manders sat down, placed their hats on the table, and conversed 
as freely as in other days when both were in the service of the 
United States. General Lee alluded to the correspondence 
which had passed between them. 

" General, I have requested this interview, to know more fully 
the terms which you propose," said General Lee. 

General Grant replied that he would grant a parole to offi- 
cers and men, and that the officers might retain their side-arms 
and their personal effects. General Lee assented to the propo- 
sition, and did not ask for any modification of the terms, which 
were then engrossed. The paper was signed by General Lee 
at half past three o'clock. 

After he had affixed his signature. General Lee asked for 
General Grant's understanding of the term " personal effects " 
which had been used in the instrument. 

" Many of my cavalrymen own their horses," he said. 

" I think that the horses must be turned over to the United 
States," was the reply. 

" I coincide in that opinion," was Lee's rejoinder. 

" But," said General Grant, " I will instruct the officers who 
are appointed to carry out the capitulation to allow those who 
own horses to take them home. They will need them to do 
their spring ploughing and to till their farms." 

" Allow me to express my thanks for such consideration and 
generosity on your part. It cannot fail of having a good 
effect," General Lee replied with emotion. 

After further conversation General Lee expressed a hope 
that each soldier of his army might be furnished with a cer- 
tificate, or some other evidence of parole, to prevent them from 
being forced into further service by Confederate conscripting 
officers. 

" 1 will order such certificates to be issued to every man," 
said General Grant ; and as soon as the preliminaries were 



1865.] SURRENDER OF LEE. 553 

settled, the head-quarters printing-press was put to work 
striking off blanks for that purpose. 

" My army is short of rations," said Lee. 

" You shall be supplied," and an order was at once issued 
to the commissary to furnish rations to the prisoners. 

The question of terms had been discussed the evening pre- 
vious around Grant's camp-fire. Grant stated that he wanted 
such a surrender as would break down the positions which 
France and England had taken in recognizing the Rebels as bel- 
ligerents. He did not wish for humiliating terms. He would 
not require a formal grounding of arms. The Rebels were 
Americans, and his object was to restore them to the Union 
and not to degrade them. 

Lee returned to his army and stated the terms of capitula- 
tion, which were received with great satisfaction, especially by 
those who owned horses. They cheered loudly, and no doubt 
heartily. The terms were such as they had not expected. The 
newspapers of the South had persistently represented the men 
of the North as bloodthirsty and vindictive, — as vandals, rob- 
bers, and murderers, — capable of doin^ the work of fiends, 
and the remarkable leniency of Grant surprised them. 

The terms were not altogether acceptable to Grant's army. 
Many of the officers remembered that General Pickett never 
had resigned his commission in the United States service, but 
that he had taken up arms against the country without any scru- 
ples of conscience. He was a deserter and a traitor, found in 
arms. The soldiers remembered that scores of their comrades 
had been shot or hung for deserting the ranks ; the utmost leni- 
ency of the government was a long term of imprisonment in a 
penitentiary or confinement on the Dry Tortugas. Sentinels had 
been shot for falling asleep while on duty ; yet General Pickett 
and his fellow-traitors were, by the terms of the parole, granted 
an indulgence which was equivalent to a pardon. It was Gen- 
eral Pickett who hung the Union men of North Carolina who 
had enlisted in the service of the Union, but who, under the 
fortunes of war, had fallen into his hands. In General Pick- 
ett's estimation they had committed an unpardonable crime. 
He considered them as citizens of the Confederacy, and hung 
them upon the nearest tree. It was cold-blooded murder. 



554 FOUR YEAKS OF FIGHTING. [-^prilj 

But his desertion, treason, inhumanity, and murders were off- 
set by the plea that the North could afford to be magnanimous 
to a conquered foe ! The soldiers idolized Grant as a command- 
er. They had no objection to his terms with the privates of 
Lee's army, but there was dissent from including Pickett and 
Ewell, and other Rebel officers who had been notoriously inhu- 
man to Union soldiers. The Rebel soldiers were generally 
humane towards prisoners, especially after the first year of the 
war. Many instances might be cited of their kindness to the 
wounded on the battle-field and to prisoners in their hands. 
The ofiicers in the field were also kind, but the political lead- 
ers, the women, and officers in charge of prisons were cruel 
and vindictive. 

The hour came for Lee to part with his officers. He re- 
tained his calmness and composure, but they could not refrain 
from shedding tears. It was to be their last meeting. He was 
to lead them no more in battle. 

The occasion brought before them an acute sense that all 
was over, — all lost; their sacrifices, sufferings, heroism, had . 
been in vain ; their pride was humbled ; instead of being victors, 
they were vanquished ; history and the impartial verdict of 
mankind perhaps would hold them responsible for the blood 
which had been shed. It was a sad hour to that body of men 
in gray, wearing the stars of a perished Confederacy. 

The intelligence of the capitulation was communicated to 
Grant's army by bulletin. As the news flew along the lines on 
that Sabbath morning, the cheering was prolonged and vocifer- 
ous. For the first time in four years the veterans who had 
toiled in the mud of the Peninsula, who had been beaten back 
from Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, who had stood like 
a wall of adamant on the banks of the Antietam, and the 
heights of Gettysburg, who had pressed Lee from the Wilder- 
ness to Five Forks, who had brought him to bay at last, were 
to have a peaceful night. 

Their fighting was over, and there was to be no more charg- 
ing of batteries ; nor long watchings in the trenches, drenched 
by rains, parched by summer heat, or numbed by the frosts of 
winter ; no more scenes of blood, of wasting away in hospitals, 
or murders and starvation in Rebel prisons. It. was the hour 



1865.] SURRENDER OF LEE. 555 

of peace. In the radiant light of that Sabbath sun they could 
rejoice in the thought that they had once more a reunited 
country ; that an abject people had been redeemed from 
slavery ; that the honor of the nation had been vindicated ; 
that the flag which traitors had trailed in th^ dust at the be- 
ginning of the conflict was more than ever the emblem of the 
world's best hopes. 



556 FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING. [April, 



CHAPTER XXXIY. 

CONCLUSION. 

Day was breaking on the 12th of April, when General Grant, 
accompanied by his staff, alighted from the cars at City Point, 
after a tedious night ride from Burkesville. He walked slowly 
up the steep bank to his head-quarters, not with the air of a 
conqueror, but as if sleep and rest would be far more accept- 
able than the congratulations of a noisy crowd. Four years had 
passed since he left his quiet home in Illinois, a humble citizen, 
unknown beyond his village borders ; but now his name was in- 
separably connected with a great moral convulsion, world-wide 
in its influence, enduring as time in its results. The mighty 
conflict of ideas had swept round the globe like a tidal wave of 
the ocean. Industry had been quickened in every land, and 
new channels of trade opened among the nations. Wherever 
human language was spoken, men talked of the war between 
Slavery and Freedom, and aspirations for good were awakened 
in the hearts of toiling millions in Europe, on the burning 
sands of Africa, and in the jungles of Hindostan, to whom life 
was bare existence and the future ever hopeless. 

The four years of fighting were over ; the Rebellion was sub- 
dued. On the first of April Lee had a large army, but sud- 
denly he had been overwhelmed. That which seemed so formi- 
dable had disappeared like a bubble in the sunshine. Though 
the Rebels saw that the Confederacy was threatened as it had 
not been at any other period of the war, there were few, if 
any, who, up to the latest hour, dreamed that there could be 
such an overturning of affairs. That Lee had held his ground 
so long was a warranty that he could successfully resist all 
Grant's efforts to take Richmond. The Confederate Congress 
met daily in the capital, passed resolutions, enacted laws, and 
debated questions of state, as if the Confederacy had a place 
among the nations, with centuries of prosperity and glory in 



1865.] CONCLUSION. 557 

prospect. But tbeir performance came to an unexpected end. 
The last act of the tragedy was given on the 14th, — the assas- 
smation of the President. 

What drama surpasses it in interest ? What period of the 
world's history is more replete with great events affecting the 
welfare of the human race ? In 1861, when the curtain rose, 
the world beheld a nation, peaceful, happy, prosperous. Then 
came the spectacle, — the procession of seceding States, with 
bugles sounding, colors flying, the bombardment of Sumter ; 
the uprising of the people of the North, the drum-beat heard 
in every village, flags floating from all the steeples, streamers 
and banners from all the house-tops, great battles, defeat, and 
victory ; a ploughman and splitter of rails the liberator of the 
enslaved, their enlistment as soldiers of the Republic ; the pa- 
triotism of the people ; woman's work of love and mercy ; the 
ghastly scenes in Southern prisons, the conflagration of cities 
set on fire by the Rebels, the breaking up of the Confed- 
eracy, the assassination, the capture of the Rebel chief, the 
return of the victorious armies, the last grand military pageant 
at Washington, and then the retirement of the soldiers to 
peaceful life ! Sublime the picture ! 

The conflict commenced as a rebellion, but ended in revo- 
lution. Slavery has disappeared. Civil liberty is stronger 
than in 1861. Four millions of freedmen are candidates for 
citizenship, who at the beginning of the Rebellion had no 
rights under the flag of the Union. 

" Slaves rise up men ; the olive waves, 
With roots deep set in battle graves." 

The Rebellion was an attempt to suppress Truth and Justice 
by tyranny. The effort might have been successful in earlier 
ages, but not in the nineteenth century, and never will the at- 
tempt be repeated on American soil, for the tendency of mind 
is towards a clearer perception of the rights of man. America 
uttered her protest against despotic power in 1776. " It was an 
experiment," said the aristocracies of Europe. The " republi- 
can bubble has burst," said Earl Russell in 1861 ; but the Re- 
public lives, and the false and ignoble distinctions in the 
society of the Old World, which slavery attempted to establish 
in the New, have been reversed. America teaches this truth to 



558 FOUE YEAES OF FIGHTING. [April. 

the wondering nations, — that the strongest government rests, 
not on the few, not on property, never on injustice, but on the 
people, on diffused wealth and enlightened mind, on obligation 
to man and God. 

Kings will yet lay aside their sceptres, and subjects will be- 
come sovereigns, because the people of America, by example, 
have shown the world that civil and religious liberty for all, as 
well as for the few, is of more value than human life. 

How lavish the expenditure of blood! How generous the 
outpouring of the wine of life by the heroic dead ! 

" Song of peace, nor battle's roar, 
Ne'er shall break their slumbers more ; 
Death shall keep his solemn trust, 
' Earth to earth, and dust to dust.' " 

Dead, yet living. Their patriotism, sacrifice, endurance, pa- 
tience, faith, and hope can never die. Loved and lamented, 
but immortal. Paeans for the living, dirges for the dead. 
Their work is done, not for an hour, a day, a year, but for all 
time ; not for fame or ambition, but for the poor, the degraded, 
the oppressed of all lands, for civilization and Christianity, for 
the welfare of the human race through Time and Eternity ! 



THE END. 



Cambridge : Stereotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co. 



